Informed CIO: Cloud Contracts and SLAs
Informed CIO: Cloud Contracts and SLAs
Cloud computing is approximately where the Internet was more than a decade ago: full of both promise and hype, and constantly changing. As companies evaluate cloud services, CIOs must help them reach business objectives and save money, while also serving in a stewardship role. A
stepwise process is what’s needed. IT must assess a business unit’s needs and help business managers come to good decisions, while balancing risk, fiscal impact, and flexibility.
If the decision goes in favor of a cloud approach, you need to figure out how to proceed, and what to do if and when things go wrong. Some of the questions that IT professionals need to ask as they evaluate cloud services include: What’s the use case? What’s the risk/benefit profile? And, what happens if the provider completely fails?
Getting the answers to these and other key questions will help you determine if cloud computing makes sense, evaluate providers, determine if you need an SLA, and, if so, how to craft a strong agreement.
Table of Contents
3 Author’s Bio
4 Executive Summary
5 How to Protect Your Company in the Cloud
6 What’s the Use Case?
7 What’s the Risk/Benefit Profile?
8 Is a Negotiated SLA Needed?
10 What Metrics Are Important?
10 Is Our Environment the Weakest Link?
11 What Have Pilot Tests and Reference Checks Shown?
11 Who Will Measure SLA Metrics?
12 From What Perspective Will SLA Metrics Be Measured?
12 What Happens If the Provider Completely Fails?
Figures
5 Figure 1: Service Provider Shopping List
7 Figure 2: Concerns About Cloud Services
9 Figure 3: Striking A Balance In Cloud Requirements
About the Author
Jonathan Feldman serves as director of information technology services for a city in North Carolina. The city has won several technology innovation awards during his tenure, including the International Economic Development Council New Media Award. He has also directed professional services in the private sector, providing security and network infrastructure services to the military, healthcare, financial services and law enforcement markets.
Jonathan has worked for 20 years in the fields of IT security, reliability and human resources management, and has written, taught and consulted extensively on these topics, notably as co-author of Maximum Security and author of Teach Yourself Network Troubleshooting. His writing, which readers call “funny and easy to read,” has been translated into many different languages. As an award-winning Network Computing and InformationWeek contributing editor, he has worked with dozens of public- and private-sector organizations to document real business benefits, risks and appropriate governance of new technologies and surrounding practices and procedures.
A speaker at regional and national venues, including Interop, PC Expo, CNet Radio, The Institute of Internal Auditors and for the United States Army, Jonathan has been active in the community with organizations such as Infragard and GMIS International. He holds an MS degree from Georgia Tech.
Write to him at jf@feldman.org.
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