© ESARBICA ISSN 2220-6442 | ESARBICA JOURNAL, VOL. 40, 2021
CREATION AND STORAGE OF RECORDS IN THE CLOUD BY ZIMBABWE
OPEN UNIVERSITY

© ESARBICA ISSN 2220-6442 | ESARBICA JOURNAL, VOL. 40, 2021
CREATION AND STORAGE OF RECORDS IN THE CLOUD BY ZIMBABWE
OPEN UNIVERSITY

GODFREY TSVUURA

KUDZAI D MBAWUYA

PATRICK NGULUBE

This study investigated the challenges and prospects of creating and storing records in
the cloud by Zimbabwe Open University in Zimbabwe. Like other universities in
Zimbabwe, the university adopted Education 5.0 advocated by the government in
2019. Consequently, the university came up with innovation hubs and industrial parks
that became centres for records creation. Keeping all records in the computer without
appropriate backups and servers has consequences such as losing vital records.
Organisations around the world use cloud computing increasingly to address records
storage and disposal. Adoption of cloud computing services carries with it cost
implications, and legal and ownership challenges as the virtualised environments are
hosted and managed by third parties. The objective of this study was to examine the
management, operational, legal and technical issues surrounding the storage of
records in the cloud, and the implications for their trustworthiness and authenticity.
The study adopted a qualitative research design and drew data from interviews with
key participants. Qualitative data were organised into broad themes and the content
reported in narrative form. The study found that Zimbabwe Open University is not
using cloud computing services effectively and is in the trial phase of cloud
computing. It further found that there was a lack of collaboration between the
information and communication technology and the records management units as the
university decided to move to the cloud on a full-scale basis. The study recommends
that the university should first address the management, operational, legal and
technical issues surrounding the storage of records in the cloud before implementing
the complete use of the cloud. The study deepens the understanding of cloud
computing in the management of records at the university, and other state universities
in Zimbabwe can use this study to deal with the management of records in the cloud.

ESARBICA

2021