Cloud computing rights and responsibilities released by global research firm

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Recently, global research marketing firm Gartner released guidelines and responsibilities for cloud computing customers and vendors to follow once an agreement is in place for the managed network.

According to Gartner’s report, vendors must be aware of their customers’ right to retain their data and their right to control it. Vendors must also allow for service-level agreements with customers that detail processes for recovery or address down-time issues.

The firm also stated cloud customers have the right to notification regarding any vendor changes involving their data, such as service interruption for system or capacity upgrades. Vendors should also inform their customers upfront about any technical limitations they have to avoid such issues down the road.

Cloud customers are also entitled to be informed of the whereabouts of their data, especially if a vendor is transmitting it through or storing it in different countries. Being informed of the area’s rules and regulations is important for compliance issues, according to Gartner. Vendors should also inform their customers of the processes they follow when security breaches occur.

Finally, providers and customers both have the responsibility to understand and follow the license agreements involing the utilized software.

As more companies move to the cloud - a CloudTweaks report found 20 percent of all companies will make the jump during the next four years - following Gartner’s rules and responsibilities could make for a more enjoyable and efficient adoption.