Article Options
Transforming IT Blog
Join us in the Transforming IT HP Blog where we will discuss reinventing IT to overcome obstacles and take advantage of Instant on Enterprise opportunities.

Brilliant or Perilous? What am I really signing up for with Public Cloud?

TS_Guest| June 12, 2012
2 Comments
0

by Dave Twohy

 

 

In my last blog, we started to talk about how cloud computing is beginning to open new avenues of efficiency for CIOs.  However, there are also some new challenges with cloud computing including shadow IT, SLA management, and proprietary data leaving the protected confines of internal infrastructure.  And this got me thinking about Public Cloud…

...so let me set some context for the next part of this discussion.  When any of us go out onto the web and purchase a service, or buy software, or pay for premium content, there is a seemingly innocuous little step that happens before we get access our content or service - we agree to “terms & conditions”.  When the time comes for this step, a terms & conditions pop up box typically appears with two options: accept and proceed or decline and exit. There is no “negotiate” button; at least none that I’ve ever encountered. 

 

So, with that in mind, I actually went out and I looked at the type of terms I’d be signing up for if I wanted to buy a Public Cloud service. I was particularly interested in:  What were they really offering customers?  If you turn on one of their services what are you really signing up for?   In order to be fair, I went and visited several very popular sites for cloud services to see if the data was consistent.  What I found was pretty revealing, and three sections of the T&C’s in particular were eye opening.

 

Indemnification

When you hit the accept button, from an indemnification point of view you’ve agreed to some pretty significant terms that I suspect most legal folks would get pretty upset about.  (I’m pretty sure my legal team would get heartburn over the indemnification terms I read).

 

Disclaimers

This gets into the service level agreements, or SLAs. What I saw included examples such as “the service is provided ‘as is’, including any warranty that the offering will be uninterrupted”, or “any of the content will be error free”.  And there were more…all of which led me to wonder if business units that are purchasing these services really understand what they’re signing up for when they purchase public Cloud services.

 

Limitations of liability

According to the terms I read, the cloud service provider won’t be liable for any type of damage – whether that’s profits, good will, use or data. So here’s what I concluded after looking at all of this: there is no SLA.  At least not how a traditional IT shop would define one.  If any problem occurs, they’ve already told you that they will not be responsible. Legally - there is no remediation available whatsoever. Further, if there’s a problem, you, the customer are actually responsible for indemnification.  That’s a pretty one-sided contract, quite frankly, but when you hit that accept button and proceed – that is exactly what you are agreeing to. 

Don’t take my word for it - take a look for yourselves.

That’s the down-side of the reality of public cloud offerings. Now what’s the plus side?

The plus side is that these services are available very rapidly, and anybody with a credit card can turn on these services in a matter of minutes. If a user knows what he or she needs to do, and knows what kind of service they need, they can go get it quickly and very, very easily.  There is a big advantage to that, and in some cases it makes perfect sense for IT to leverage these kinds of offerings.

 

To close, I had a discussion recently with a client who discovered that he had a public cloud “problem” in his enterprise the hard way.  How did he figure out that they had a public cloud “problem”?  He performed a routine audit and saw a bunch of services showing up on corporate Amex cards.  When they started to dig into these purchases, they realized that a new form of shadow IT was established and growing inside their company, and completely outside the control (or even view) of IT.  He reviewed the T&C’s that his business units were agreeing to, was very concerned about the risk profile, and stepped in to help.  He told me that wanted to aggregate his spend to 1) drive down unit costs, and 2) to negotiate T&C’s for the enterprise.  I asked him how all of that was going, and his response: “the 1st one?  Fine, no problem.  We nogatiated an enterprise pricing schedule pretty quickly.  The 2nd one?  We’ve been negotiating terms for 6 months and we’re still negotiating.”

 

So, what is YOUR company doing with Public cloud today?  Are you on a brilliant path, or a perilous one?  Or perhaps both??  Let me know what you think… 

 

Also - check out HP’s new Cloud Services @ http://www8.hp.com/us/en/business-services/it-services.html?compURI=1077445

 

We can help you understand, plan and navigate your path to the Cloud.

 



GS01.jpgDave Twohy is WW VP of HP’s Technology Services Channel Organization. He has 23 years of experience in the IT industry and has worked extensively with large and small enterprises and channel partners around the world. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, partner conferences, and HP’s customer experience center.

Tags: Converged cloud| private cloud| public cloud| shadow IT
Labels: HP Cloud Design Services| HP Cloud Infrastructure| HP Cloud Planning Services
Labels:
Comments
SteveKingatHP ‎06-13-2012 01:41 AM - edited ‎06-13-2012 01:45 AM
Options

Great points Dave!   I think that there has been so much conditioning to just check 'I agree' when presented with a list of non-negotiable terms for online services or software licensing that many people don't give it a second thought.  However, as you point out, these terms can make all the difference when you are putting your business in the hands of a public cloud provider and something unexpected happens!!   I think the key is understanding the concepts you previously outlined in your Converged Cloud blog.  Public Cloud is a great thing and an excellent choice for SOME applications and IT needs, but not for ALL needs.  Having the right solution partner and advisor that can help an organization figure out what to run where while balancing agility, costs, risks, SLAs, etc. is really important these days.

0
Dave Twohy(anon) | ‎06-19-2012 10:48 PM
Options

Thanks for the comments Steve - I agree with your thoughts.  For me it's about visibility, control, and risk mitigation.  First, the IT team has to be aware of the IT consumption habits of the business units that it supports.  Second, IT needs to be in a position to control the business assets of the company - especially it's data and IP.  And finally, as we all know, ignorance is not a viable defense.  If something happens and the standard terms and conditions are in place, the company has little or no recourse...not an ideal position...

0
Leave a Comment

We encourage you to share your comments on this post. Comments are moderated and will be reviewed
and posted as promptly as possible during regular business hours

To ensure your comment is published, be sure to follow the community guidelines.
Be sure to enter a unique name. You can't reuse a name that's already in use.
Be sure to enter a unique email address. You can't reuse an email address that's already in use.
Type the characters you see in the picture above.Type the words you hear.
 
Search
turn on suggestions Auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you type.
Auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you type.
About the Author
  • More than 30 years in Sales and Marketing in IT services business. Currently managing global campaigns for Datacenter Care.
  • I’m a Global Strategist, a certified (PMI) Project Manager, specializing in business to IT alignment, agility consulting, Infrastructure Transformation and Strategic Architecture for Big Data, Mobility, Private Cloud, Unified Communications and Collaboration. I drive the strategy, vision and content of strategic consulting services in the Big Data IT Infrastructure services area at HP. As part of this, I meet with senior level customers to understand their challenges, conduct workshops to determine future vision and roadmaps as well as presenting at industry and analyst events.
  • Andre is a Senior Solutions Architect specialising in enterprise infrastructure consulting with particular focus on enterprise storage, server virtualisation, cloud computing, and IT to Business translation. Andre also holds University degree's in Information Technology and Business and Administration majoring in Strategic and Organisational Management
  • Craig Partridge is the WW strategy lead for HP Technology Services Networking group. His role now covers strategy for consulting, professional and support services. The major areas of focus are Mobility, UC, Cloud Networking and IPv6. All aligned to core HP networking solutions - simplified, secure, optimized and available.
  • Don has held roles with the business and marketing of consulting for HP. Currently he supports HP's Client and Microsoft Solutions and the emerging Mobility Consulting services. He holds a MBA from UCLA's Anderson School.
  • Hande has been with HP for over 10 years and held key consulting business and marketing roles based in New York and Boston US. Currently, she is the WW marketing lead for Cloud and Converged Infrastructure Consulting Services for HP Technology Consulting and living In Istanbul with her family. Hande enjoys spending time with friends, traveling, skiing and reading. Hande holds a M.B.A degree from Bentley College, MA.
  • Having joined HP in 2003 Ian Jagger is the world-wide marketing and program manager for HP Technology Consulting's Strategic Consulting Services, Critical Facilities Services and Energy and Sustainability Management Services, as well as emerging IT services Prior to his current role, he served as the HP Services Marketing Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, having joined HP in a similar role in the Middle East. Prior to HP Jagger had a 15 year international sales career, culminating in being Sales and Marketing Director for Steelcase Inc addressing Northern Europe before focusing more specifically on marketing. His initial focus was consultancy and interim marketing management, primarily for small to mid-sized customers based or looking to expand in the Middle Eastern region. Immediately prior to joining HP he was a strategic marketing consultant addressing investment targets for a technology fund. Born in Rochdale, United Kingdom, Jagger holds an honors bachelor of science degree in economics and a degree in social psychology from Loughborough University, England. He also holds a Masters Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Chartered Marketer. He has one daughter and lives in Cary, North Carolina.
  • Jordan Lee has over twenty years of consulting and industry experience, helping some of the world’s largest firms craft and implement their business and IT strategies. His priority is to advise Hewlett-Packard clients how to best prepare for and take full advantage of the dramatic shifts in the IT economy taking place today. Over his career, Mr. Lee has held executive positions both in industry and consulting organizations, where he has provided consulting to some of the largest firms in the US. Over the years, he has helped his clients redesign business processes and organizations, and implement strategic IT programs around ERP, System Integration, Business Intelligence, and IT Infrastructure.
  • Jordan owns the worldwide mobility portfolio for TS Network Consulting and is a OneHP Mobility ambassador. His expertise centers on client and applications virtualization and enterprise mobility management technologies.
  • Eduardo Zepeda, WW TS Social Media Program Manager & Internal Communications for WW Technology Services Blogging on behalf of HP Technology Services (TS_Guest)
  • Ken Larson has over 30 years of experience in Information Technology aligning business to technology. As an Enterprise Architect, he has delivered many successful architecture related services across business and government sectors in manufacturing, insurance, banking, oil, utilities, US state and federal governments. He is certified in TOGAF and IT Service Management.
  • Laura Cunningham is a CPA and business consultant with HP Technology Services Consulting. She helps CIOs and their teams bridge the gap between what the CIO wants and what the CFO requires by building a comprehensive business case that can withstand financial scrutiny.
  • Broad mix of experiences developed in more than 20 years of technology-driven innovation. Fascinated by changes triggered by mix of behavior, needs and technology. Bachelor in Theoretical Physics.
  • Patrick Lownds is a Senior Technology Consultant and is involved in designing and delivering both Client Virtualization and Cloud Computing solutions in the datacenter. Patrick co-authored “Mastering Hyper-V Deployment”
  • I've been working in HP since 2007 like IT agent, developer, Web designer and then like Web Project Manager
  • I work with HP customers to help them create business value with strategic service management. I am a senior ITIL examiner and I have written many ITIL books and pocket guides. Find out more at www.hp.com/go/stuartrance or Follow me on Twitter @StuartRance
  • I’m a Global Chief Engineer certified Exchange Architect and Master (MCA and MCM), specializing in Messaging, Mobility, Private Cloud, Unified Communications and Collaboration. This relates to all work to coordinate sales, pursuit and delivery readiness in all services that relate to HP's portfolio around Microsoft Exchange. Includes internal readiness as well as external events, analyst briefings. With 25+ year’s experience in the industry. Thomas has been involved with Microsoft products since 1993. Specialties: - Architecting complex public and private Cloud solutions for Exchange, SharePoint and Lync in standard, dedicated or hybrid scenarios. - Lead the HP specialists team unit to win and acheive our business targets and budget - Drive HP's Exchange Services for Private Cloud - Working with partners, vendors and internal teams to align, expand and grow HP's strategy.
  • Tom Clement has over 30 years experience in the areas of adult learning, secondary education, and leadership development. During this time Tom has been a consistent champion of “non-traditional” training delivery methods, including blended learning, virtual delivery (self paced and instructor led), the use of training games and simulations, and experiential learning. Tom has spent the past 25 years of his career at Hewlett Packard, focused most recently on HP’s global Virtualization, Cloud, and Converged Infrastructure customer training programs. Tom manages the strategic direction and overall performance of these training programs, ensuring these worldwide programs help HP’s customers capitalize on the business opportunities made available by IT advancements in each of these subject areas. Tom and his global teammates utilize best in class instructors, course content and supporting equipment infrastructure to deliver these training programs to HP’s customers. The team prides itself on providing the Virtualization, Cloud, and Converged Infrastructure content customers need when and where they need it, anywhere in the world. Tom is based in the Washington, DC suburbs and can be reached at tom.clement@hp.com.
  • Tari is a Distinguished Technologist with 30 years of IT and cyber security experience. He is dual board certified in information security/business continuity and is responsible for a wide range of management and technology consulting services encompassing information security, disaster recovery, privacy, and risk management. His problem-solving skills, knowledge of various technology platforms, compliance statutes, industries, as well as his experience in deploying defense-in-depth and InfoSec Program solution architectures is commonly applied when advising CIOs/CISOs as well as leveraged in numerous HP client engagements throughout the world. Tari has designed, built, and managed some of the world’s largest InfoSec programs allowing them to defend against even the most aggressive attackers.
  • I provide technical consulting services at all phases including analysis, planning, design and implementation. I have a wide range of experience in WAN and LAN technologies, as well as providing security solutions and deploying operating system infrastructure. Besides working directly with clients to deploy technology in their data centers, I also find myself architecting or discussing solutions with a business’s chief information officer, helping to lay out a roadmap for the coming years.
  • Bill is the Principal Data Center Energy Technologist for HP Technology Services. Kosik is a licensed professional engineer, LEED Accredited Professional, a Certified Energy Manager, and a Building Energy Modeling Professional. He is responsible for research and implementation of sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible design strategies for data centers. He is currently a subject matter expert for the USGBC on the new LEED Data Centers, the EPA/DOE on unification of energy metrics, and the Green Grid on responding to the EPA’s Energy Star for Data Centers program. He has an engineering degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Follow Us