Cloud Computing: Principles and Paradigms

Chapter 24. LEGAL ISSUES IN CLOUD COMPUTING

JANINE ANTHONY BOWEN

INTRODUCTION

"Even before the blades in the data center went down, I knew we had a problem. That little warning voice in the back of my head had become an ambulance siren screaming right into my ears. We had all our customers' applications and data in there, everything from the trivial to the mission critical. I mumbled one of those prayers that only God and IT types hear, hoping our decisions on redundancy were the right ones. We had a disaster recovery plan, but it had never really been battle-tested. Now we were in trouble; and the viability of not just our enterprise, but also that of many of our customers, hung in the balance. I can take the hits associated with my own business, but when someone else's business could sink... it's different.

I looked over at Mike and Nihkil, our resident miracle workers. The color had drained from both of their faces. 'I've given you all she's got, Captain,' Nikhil said in his best Scotty from Star Trek voice. Looking over at Mike and sinking even lower into my seat, I knew it was going to be a long and painful day...."

Objective of Chapter

The worst-case scenario hinted at in the vignette above rarely happens. But in a world without cloud computing, in most instances the company whose systems are about to "go down" generally has some measure of control of its fate—either because the IT resources are internal to the company, or the company has reasonably tight reins on the provider, ...