Towards Objective Cloud Computing Services Selection - Multi-Criteria Based Approach

Cloud servers are becoming more widely used due to the growing number of mobile devices with limited capabilities for complex computing, processing, and storage. Choosing the optimal cloud server is challenging due to the continuous technological development of the growing number of cloud service providers. The need to evaluate cloud services according to multiple attributes suggests that multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods are appropriate. This paper proposes an approach to multi-criteria assessment of cloud services using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method employing various distance metrics with different approaches to prefer sustainable solutions and criteria compensation. A sensitivity analysis that considered changing criteria weights was applied to assess the robustness of evaluated solutions. The demonstrated approach proved its applicability for multi-criteria cloud service assessment considering sustainability and robustness.