Laws governing cloud services still being formed

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The technological sophistication of cloud services has outrun the legal system by a considerable margin, but a book from lawyer Thomas Shaw seeks to clarify the probable regulatory landscape of the future.

Companies utilizing cloud services will likely need new cloud-specific standards, control mechanisms and management technologies in order to do the best possible job of securing sensitive data against intrusion, Shaw says. The way data breaches are handled in eDiscovery and other legal matters is likely to differ significantly from the present day, as well.

Cloud services contracts with vendors must also be dealt with differently than standard IT services agreements, according to Shaw. The book also includes a highly detailed system for negotiating a service level agreement and fee schedule with a provider, which takes into account variables like organizational size and specialization.

There's no guarantee, however, that the evolution of the cloud will proceed along purely predictable lines, other experts say. Keeping options open and knowing the full details about any new developments in the technology will enable organizations to make the right decision about adopting it.