Cloud Computing as a Prospect for the Sector of Small - and Medium-Size Companies in the Polish Market

Efficient functioning in the contemporary market is a fundamental need of every organization. In times of globalization and an intensive technological and engineering progress, attaining a proper position and retaining it is a big challenge in almost every branch of industry. This is especially difficult for the SME sector, as it requires financial expenditures on system solutions and the IT base, among other things. This is where “Cloud Computing” comes in. Cloud computing services consist in providing and making available IT resources (efficient, scalable and tailored to the customer's needs) through the Web. Thanks to wide access to intensively developing mobile systems, the low costs of computer components and the associated increasingly common use of Internet of Things (IoT) in numerous devices connected to the Internet, data processing is being gradually moved onto the Web peripheries. The purpose of the study is to highlight advantages and possible threats associated with the use of Cloud Computing-based solutions for aiding the activity of enterprises at a varying organizational level following the 4th industrial revolution.