Rights and Responsibilities for Consumers of Cloud Computing Services

One of the most prevalent buzz words in the technology space the past 12 months…”cloud”

I've written about it all over the web, both here on THE Tech Scoop and The Next Web, I've spoken at it at conferences, and have been an advisor to a relevant marketplace contender providing managed hosting services.

I just saw something interesting come from Gartner, what they're calling the Rights and Responsibilities for Consumers of Cloud Computing.

Written by Daryl Plummer, who is Gartner's managing Vice President, Chief of Research and Chief Gartner Fellow. Mr Plummer manages the Gartner Fellows Program, which is designed to allow senior analysts the opportunity to explore new research ideas and to elevate the Gartner culture and brand with clients. He is chief of Research for emerging trends, business process management (BPM), and enterprise architecture. In this capacity, Mr Plummer is a primary analyst in cloud computing, service-oriented architecture, BPM and emerging trends.

So we all, as consumers of cloud technology – what are our rights? What are our responsibilities?

Here are the high-level points Mr. Plummer points out:

Rights

1. The Right to Retain Ownership, Use and Control of One’s Own Data
2. The Right to Service-Level Agreements That Address Liabilities, Remediation and Business Outcomes
3. The Right to Notification and Choice About Changes That Affect The Service Consumer’s Business Processes
4. The Right to Understand the Technical Limitations or Requirements of the Service Upfront
5. The Right to Understand the Legal Requirements of Jurisdictions in Which the Provider Operates
6. The Right to Know What Security Processes the Provider Follows

Responsibility

1. The Responsibility to Understand and to Adhere to Software License Requirements

What do you think? Are you in agreement with Mr. Plummer on these points? You can read more at his original post on Cloudbook.

Related articles

• Cloud Computing: A Beautiful Gift of 21st Century (globalthoughtz.com)
• The top 12 gifts of cloud from 2010 (news.cnet.com)