Anywhere, any time is cloud computing’s strength – and weakness

“Several vendors, notably Amazon, Google and Oracle, have launched their cloud computing offerings in recent weeks, and now IBM has entered the fray with its Bluehouse Web-based service, which is on active trial via the firm’s web site,” observes David Hobson, GSS’ managing director. “As we’ve said before, however, the provisions of the Data Protection Act mandate that companies must clearly state to their customers where they plan to store their data, and how they will use it. The legislation also effectively means that companies must store their data within the European Union,” he warns. According to Hobson, although cloud computing is good in terms of mobile, anytime, anywhere access to corporate data, the problem is that effectively outsourcing storage to a third-party means data could be stored anywhere in the world. “Our caution here at GSS doesn’t reflect on the integrity of these new cloud computing services in any way. It merely reflects the fact that corporate governance rules and data protection legislation needs to play catch-up with the real world,” he says.