Self Regulation To Greatly Benefit Cloud Computing Companies
Longhaus, a leading analyst firm, is proposing the implementation of self-regulatory controls among cloud computing companies. Its Research Director, Sam Higgins, said that this is essential for the industry to build and maintain a credible reputation.
The firm came up with the proposal after discovering numerous bad practices committed by a number of cloud computing companies.
Longhaus is concerned about what the effect of a few bad apples to the whole cloud computing industry will be.
One scenario that the company believes necessitates some form of regulatory clause is when a provider goes bust, which without appropriate measures can leave consumers in a highly disadvantageous position.
The firm is also concerned that businesses are not given enough protection against unscrupulous providers, who will simply run off with their clients’ money. Public companies also face severe risks should a vendor not perform to standards or engage in something illicit.
Longhaus feel that the industry should come up with its own set of acceptable and fair regulatory practices which are beneficial to both vendors and buyers. For instance, they think that it is timely that cloud computing contracts include provisions that allow a customer to switch providers at any time during the life of a particular contract.
One scenario that Longhaus does not want to see is governments stepping in to impose controls on providers. The company believes that this types of action is counter-productive and would only make business environments more unresponsive to growth, expansion, and innovation.
Some industry players do not echo the sentiment of the analyst firm however, believing that the cloud computing business itself is too multi-dimensional and multi-faceted to permit effective regulation.
Peter Czeti, an executive at CSIRO, a computing firm, thinks that the suite of cloud computing services offered in the market today are so varied that it would be particularly difficult to come up with the all encompassing regulatory standards needed.
Self-policing by cloud computing platform operators would generate a tremendous impact not only on buyer perception and attitude, but to the whole industry itself, in my opinion. I don’t believe it would be necessary to force companies to comply with standards.
Instead, providers should be given autonomy to decide for themselves whether to participate or not. This way, people would easily be able to identify the companies are committed to improving the image of the cloud computing business.
Enterprises that do not join would soon find themselves at a disadvantage, since consumers would naturally be skeptical of those that do not endorse regulation.
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