Question asked by an information technology worker during a break at a recent meeting.
Response:
I told the individual asking this question that the use of Cloud Storage is a hot topic on the records management listserv with various articles discussing the pro’ and con’s of outsourcing storage of electronic records storage to the Cloud. Cloud storage is one of the latest “buzz words” being used by vendors to promote a service to organizations. Based on my review of current literature many organizations are looking into outsourcing their important business information to reduce the cost of their information technology functions. As records management professionals in an organization we are probably not included on the decision making team evaluating the use of the Cloud strategy. We are usually in the re-action phase and only thought of after the fact and/or when someone realizes the information that is being outsourced may have unforeseen consequences by being in the cloud environment in the event of a litigation, retention, retrieval, etc.
As reflected in the “Guidelines for Outsourcing Records Storage to the Cloud”, sold by ARMA International, 2010, Gartner defines Cloud Computing as “A style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service to external customers using Internet technologies”. The publication became available in late October in both paper and pdf format and should be a good resource regarding the use of Cloud technology for the RIM professional. The publication comes with checklist that can be used by an organization considering the use of the technology.
As mentioned earlier the main benefit for the use of Cloud computing is cost saving. The publication mentioned above and others list the risk factors. Some of the risks are:
• Accessibility – the ability to retrieve 24 hours a day/7 days a week
• Data Security - how to preserve and protect data to avoid problems in the retrieval process
• Data location – Where is it stored. There may be privacy and data protection issues.
• Data Segregation – How do they manage the segregation of the data for multiple owners sharing the same application and servers.
• Data Integrity – How do they manage backup, recovery and retention issues?
• Data Ownership – Requirement for solid contract with provider on ownership issues.
For further information on Cloud Computing/Storage I recommend the following articles:
“Cloud Computing: Can You Retrieve your Data?” published by CFOInnovationsAsia, October 2010. Article discusses worse case scenarios by an organization of the need to audit and/or litigation. . I’ve bookmarked this website for further review.
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/cloud-computing-can-you-retrieve-your-data
Other articles on Cloud Storage from this same resource:
“Cloud and the CFO Reality Check – Finance” published by CFOInnovationsAsia, 19 October 2010
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/cloud-and-cfo-reality-check-finance
“The CFO Cloud Computing Nightmare” published by CFOInnovationsAsia, 28 August 2010
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/cfos-cloud-computing-nightmare
“When Cloud Computing and Compliance Collide”, ComplianceWeek, 11 October 2010. Also read some of the comments from readers at the bottom of the article.
http://www.complianceweek.com/blog/kelly/2010/10/11/when-cloud-computing-and-compliance-collide/
“What’s The Problem With Cloud Security? There’s Too Much Of It…”, Rational Survivability, 17 October 2010. Article contains technical information with comments from readers on the Cloud structure methodology.
http://www.rationalsurvivability.com/blog/?p=2693
In closing, while I believe many organizations will take advantage of the benefits of Cloud storage, RIM professionals are tasked to be aware of the problems an organization may have if our employer implements Cloud Storage. I hope the resources outlined in this article will be useful to the RIM professional becoming aware of both the positive and negative points of use of this product .
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