Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Seven questions to a Cloud computing Vendor

I'm really surprised by the hype created around Cloud computing. I just fail to understand how can any one give his data in the hand of a faceless vendor?

I've following seven questions to any one who is offering Cloud services:

1. If data is stolen - how does the Cloud vendor compensate the customer?

2. What's cost and effort involved in switching to another vendor along with my existing data?

3. What happens if vendor decides to change terms of his services at a later date; or worst, decides to close his service offering after say 1 year's notice e.g., Cisco, Microsoft as per their contract terms?

4. What remedy is there for a customer if vendor does not answer customer's service calls satisfactorily?

5. What kind of legal protection is there for a customer when data is compromised or he gets un-satisfactory service from the vendor?

6. Are cyber laws simple enough to indict the vendor and get legal remedy without spending great money, effort and time?

7. If there is a data loss due to accident, human error, bug in application,  application error, power outage, virus/malware attack, hacker attack - how will I get my data basck and in how do I compensated for the loss?

Latest news from PC World (3 Feb 2011):

"Just this week there have been two significant events that call the virtues of cloud storage into question. First, Mozy dropped its unlimited storage option--signaling an end to infinite online storage. Second, online photo service Flickr accidentally deleted a user's account--and along with it 4,000 photos and years of effort uploading, cataloging, organizing, and linking to them."

Latest news from Cisco (23 Feb 2011):
Cisco Systems has decided to kill its cloud-based e-mail service Cisco Mail, only 13 months after it was introduced, the company said. With the growing acceptance of cloud services, Cisco saw a chance to offer e-mail services along with its successful WebEx Conferencing service, which combines desktop sharing through a web browser with phone and video conferencing. But it seems customers weren't as interested in getting e-mail from the networking giant.

1 comment:

  1. Cloud Contracts -- The Devil is in the Detail

    http://www.channelworld.in/news/cloud-contracts-devil-detail-208212012?utm_source=icwupdate&utm_medium=email&utm_term=unl1&utm_campaign=01june2012

    ReplyDelete

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