oud
cl
Clearing
the air on
contracts
What you don���t know about cloud computing
contracts could hurt your data.
By Shane Schick
M
artin Kratz is trying really hard not to be a party pooper.
It���s mid-morning at the Brookstreet Hotel just outside
Ottawa, where a group of service providers, consultants,
and other experts have gathered for a conference called
���CloudLaunch.��� They are discussing the promise of cloud
computing in Canada and how widespread adoption could
be accelerated. There has already been a considerable level of
hype and optimism, and it���s not even 11 a.m. yet. That���s when
Kratz, head of the intellectual property group at Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto, takes the stage
to patiently explain why so many organizations are increasingly wary about the risks involved
in cloud computing contracts, and why the companies that provide such services are going to
have to make some major changes in the way they operate.
���When you have relationships, you���re going to have divorces,��� Kratz says bluntly when he
talks about the need for an effective exit strategy before an agreement is signed. ���Right now
many organizations are still in the ���romance��� phase.���
That���s putting it mildly. Whether it is seen as a cost-saving maneuver, a productivity booster,
or a means of maximizing IT resources, cloud computing has become the approach advocated
by all kinds of technology vendors, primarily through what are called software-as-a-service
or infrastructure-as-a-service offerings. Suppliers once satisfied with selling software that
ca na dia nl awy e rm a g . c o m / i n h o u s e
December 2012/January 2013
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