Before you decide to sign up for cloud computing, there are issues relating to location of data, security and reliability, and data exit that you should be aware of.
For businesses, the benefits of the cloud are that it can be cheaper than the outlay on hardware or software, more flexible, easier to manage and efficient.
There are, however, some issues to consider.
Before you consider moving to the cloud, you will need to perform proper due diligence. This should cover at a minimum what parties are actually involved in providing your services, enforceability of the contract, liability for breaches, retention of IP ownership by you and of course confidentiality and security.
You should consider also where your data will be stored or processed. The services may not be tied to a single jurisdiction, and the service provider may not even know exactly where your data is residing. This can have a relevant impact on your responsibilities relating to data protection and privacy.
Another issue to be aware of relates to the consideration of whether in proceeding with the services of a particular “cloud” based supplier, you then become locked-in to certain applications or systems – and whether you have the right (or ability) to transfer data or applications between service providers. In addition to these factors obviously having commercial implications, you also should consider the impact of any of these aspects on your obligations under retention laws and regulations. Depending on the situation, data needs to be accessible for five, seven or sometimes even more than 10 years after creation.
If you are thinking of joining the cloud, we can help you to carefully review your cloud computing service contract and its terms and conditions of use. Contact us at 02 8006 0830 or [email protected]