摘要：When we analyze the effects of information and communication technology (ICT), usually the focus is on the timeliness and ease of gaining the required information, or the functionality of an information system built by that technology. However, an important factor in introducing ICT applications into a company is certainly the cost of its implementation and maintenance. Given the rapid development of ICT and the frequent need for its replacement and/or upgrading, there is also an issue of cost-effectiveness of replacing the existing technological solutions with new ICT concepts, i.e., new infrastructure solutions. The issue becomes more difficult as the technological leaps become longer and longer. One of these major technological leaps implied the development of cloud computing. The key question posed by businesses all over the world, including those in Croatia, is about the cost-effectiveness of implementing this concept. Answering this question involves determining the existence of causal relationship between the implementation of cloud computing and ICT costs. The study conducted confirmed the existence of causality between the ICT costs and cloud computing. This causal relationship is inversely proportional because the more we use cloud computing, the lower the ICT costs. Moreover, failing to use cloud computing means lagging behind modern ICT and thus lagging behind at all operational levels. This indicates that the application of cloud computing is a necessity for businesses in the developed world, as well as those in the Republic of Croatia.
关键词：cloud computing; Information and Communication Technology (ICT); costs; company
