Date of Conferral

10-5-2026

Date of Award

October 2026

Degree

Doctor of Information Technology (D.I.T.)

School

Information Systems and Technology

Advisor

Dana Haywood

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) managers of nonprofit organizations are concerned about the loss of archival data, which often contains history and other valuable information they seek to preserve. Non-profit organizations face the risk of data loss due to a lack of strategies for migrating archival information to the cloud. Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies for IT managers of nonprofit organizations to implement cloud-based archiving. The participants were 5 IT managers from nonprofit organizations in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and publicly available documents from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, International Organization for Standardization, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Cloud Security Alliance, Library of Congress, and Smithsonian Libraries. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged: (a) cost of integrating cloud computing into archiving, (b) managing archival data in the cloud, and (c) accessing archival data in the cloud. Nonprofit organizations need to develop a policy to inventory, organize, and ensure that the cost, management, and accessibility factors of cloud-based archiving align with the organization's goals. The implications for positive social change include the potential for nonprofit organization leaders to preserve and provide access to historical information that fosters community enrichment, supports education, and helps local communities make informed decisions.

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