Moving data to cloud-based services can present an organization with a host of legal issues and risks that might not crop up otherwise. For a sampling of these considerations, take a look at John Pavolotsky's post at Forbes this week. An attorney at Greenberg Traurig, Pavolotsky paints a picture that will make you want to double check that your lawyers are on board before you take to the cloud.

Within the web of legalese surrounding cloud services, you generally find a section on representations and warranties. You will want to ask your potential cloud provider for representations and warranties regarding intellectual property rights, but what you may not know is that the provider will probably ask you for representations and warranties regarding your data. It is important to know the sources of your data to make sure you can't be held liable for intellectual property rights infringement.

Confidentiality is another area where cloud customers need to be wary. Pavolotsky suggests securing a promise from the provider as to who has access to confidential data and how that information will be protected. And when it comes to service-level agreements, Pavolotsky recommends determining whether credits for SLA breaches really amount to a deterrent or whether they are "simply window dressing."

Because cloud implementations are still so new, there aren't many tried-and-true best practices to guide enterprises, but some guidelines are emerging. Kevin Fogarty at CIO reports on six things not to do when planning for cloud computing. Regarding SLAs for cloud services, for example, you should focus more on performance from the end-user viewpoint than on "wonky, IT-centric metrics," Fogarty writes. Do not measure success for cloud-based applications the way you previously measured success. 

For more:
- see John Pavolotsky's post at Forbes
- read Kevin Fogarty's article at CIO

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