Cloud Computing - Heads in Sand - Governance Issues

It started as trickle, but like a dripping tap, the flow kept up ... for the last few weeks Cloud Computing keeps dropping into my email inbox ... something to do with Microsoft's Blue Sky Horizon, Windows Azure. Like the dripping tap, I tried to ignore it as just more IT geek jargon. Realisation dawned .. I'd been a fledgling Cloud Computing user for a few years without realising ... as I paid my EBay bills using PayPal, used Amazon Books payment system, Google maps, Blogger, Google Reader for RSS feeds, LinkedIn, Yahoo Groups, Web based email, etc etc.

In the end I found Robin Hastings' (Missouri River Regional Library) slideshare presentation on "Cloud Computing" & the Cloud Computing Glossary the most non-geek friendly.

But like the rest of Web 2.0 applications, rather than head in the sand, avoiding Cloud Computing issues, those with governance roles, need to be asking questions of those with their heads in the clouds, looking to blue sky horizon possibilities. Those questions need to be fully answered, and not treated dismissively.Starting with ... Will Cloud Computing storage providers guarantee access to your information & records for as long as statutory regulations require, regardless of whether done in house or outsourced ... sometimes decades ? Then would Private Clouds & Virtual Private Clouds be better approaches ? Gartner predicts a future in this approach for large organizations. If IT departments were worried about managing security concerns with Web 2.0's Microsoft Sharepoint, they must be agonising over Governance and the full ramifications of Cloud Computing applications, eg Chieftech.blogspot. Perhaps, looking at it from Web 2.0 experiences, if companies & quality management professionals have their heads in the sand, then the horses will bolt.

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