New cloud computing standards to be developed within the EU should facilitate users’ ability to transfer data and services between cloud providers, MEPs have said.17 Dec 2013

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The European Parliament has backed a new resolution on cloud computing in response to actions the European Commission has set out under its cloud computing strategy. The Commission has engaged the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to help set out what new standards are required for the way that cloud services work.

Standards that could be formed may relate to data security, interoperability and data portability, the Commission said previously.

The resolution also set out the Parliament’s view that cloud providers should be said to be ‘data controllers’ under EU data protection laws

Cloud computing is simply computers somewhere else, dolling out software or hardware recourses over the Internet or local network. The inherent risks all still exist, but not on site. Despite this, the cloud has become quite popular with businesses and institutions as a way of storing and accessing data and information on demand.

Some of these institutions, including large US law firms, are slowly and reluctantly implementing the use of these services, but have fears that sensitive information could potentially be compromised (hacked) by exploiting their relatively weak security measures.

Using these services, such as IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service), StaaS (storage-as-a-service), and PaaS (platform-as-a-service), can be both beneficial and potentially risky for those involved in the US justice system.

On one side of the cloud coin, major law firms can store an incredible amount of legal documentation that can be accessed at any given point for documentation management. This means that records are less likely to be lost, damaged, or misfiled

The other side of that coin is painted in an unattractive light, and is anything but beneficial to large law firms: Security risks that can potentially compromise sensitive material such as confidential client information and court litigation information. Cloud services generally use the same security measures (firewall, IPsec Protocol, anti-virus protection, etc.) and encryption methods of a typical shared multi-user mainframe (server). The problem with implementing cloud defense tactics is that the services are still in their infancy, which means security measures are basic at best.

Over the last year, representatives of the United States government and American technology companies have repeatedly traveled to Brussels and Strasbourg in the hopes of containing an effort by the European Commission to strengthen data protection rules for citizens of the European Union.

But on Tuesday morning, Jan Philipp Albrecht, a representative of the European Parliament reviewing the draft regulation, made public a report in which he proposed even stronger measures.

The draft regulation clarifies and elaborates on those original principles — such as the need for companies and institutions to obtain citizens’ consent before collecting information about them.

It would grant European Union citizens a fundamental new right: data portability or a citizen’s right to easily transfer his or her own personal posts, photos, and video from one online service site to another.

And it comes with a big stick: Companies that violated the rule would be liable to penalties of up to 2 percent of worldwide revenues.

Although the effort is intended to standardize and consolidate the enforcement of data protection regulation across the 27 European Union countries, some American regulators, industry groups and scholars have objected. They say the draft rule was overly broad and burdensome for technology companies to carry out.

“In cloud user does not own anything,” he said and pointed out cloud services legal terms and conditions, which are often users of Hebrew.

Wozniakin users created by the illusion that they own the data in the cloud, while in reality they are able to manage fewer services to the data.

Come what may, there is nothing to stop the avalanche of cloud computing services to companies no longer.

Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/pilvi+vyoryy+yrityksiin+vaikka+manaajia+riittaa+quottulossa+on+hirveita+ongelmiaquot/a840562?s=u&wtm=tivi-15102012

Google’s expansion brought 20 new jobs to Finland.
Google provides the necessary hardware in ready containers from abroad so computer dealers in Finland do not get any business from it.
Finnish electricity is used by foreign companies.

Finns data center market is now becoming over-capacity.
Huge amount of capacity has been built in few years and not all of them will have enough clients and services.

That was the case in Sweden bout five years ago.

“You have to be a very attractive service that customers get excited about,”

New data center space is still built because of concentration and new more energy-efficient data center solutions – the result will be that that the old data center space remains empty and unnecessary.

“I am afraid that the consolidation is seen as soon as possible, some close their doors, some people lose their money.”

Marketvisio survey revealed that the pace of sales of servers per year in Finland is about 30 000 and the server population is about 180 000.

Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/suomessa+on+liikaa+konesaleja/a844599?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-14102012&

CIOs and chief legal officers need to communicate early and often to build a deeper relationship. Discussion topics include data privacy, e-discovery and policies for mobile devices.

Corporate CIOs and chief legal officers (CLOs) have a lot to talk about: data privacy, e-discovery and policies for employee mobile devices, to name a few topics. But a recent Gartner survey of 70 CLOs found that over half (51 percent) of them said they have conversations with CIOs no more than once a month.

The Gartner report recommends that CIOs and CLOs have regular, frequent and in-depth meetings so they can build a better relationship and understand each other’s requirements, capabilities and outstanding issues. Of the CLOs who talk to their CIOs more than once a month, large majorities said they had changed their legal strategies or corporate policies after the conversation.

The study found that the polled CLOs consider CIOs to be important strategic partners. “Risk management is an increasingly important concern for CLOs, and they recognize that it requires significant input from IT,” the Gartner report says.

“Cloud services are significantly changing society. They also offer new opportunities for the software industry. European Regulators stabilize the market and would be particularly small and medium-sized enterprises do not want to use cloud services, “HP’s EMEA cloud, Vice President, Xavier Poisson says.

Max Mickelsson from Microsoft Finland office thinks regulation is necessary but is also afraid EU can fall into the old sin: over-regulation. Over-regulation can ruin economic potential of cloud services.

“The fact that Europe will be one of the regulatory system, it is much better than that here would create 27 national legislation.” Mickelsson says.

Currently EU does not have a digital single market. Services are often purchased from across the Atlantic.

Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/pilvi+vaatii+saantelya++kaikki+ovat+samaa+mielta/a840564?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-29092012&

The European Commission is to create cloud computing standards across its 27 member states to spur customer adoption and boost local economies.

Cloud has already been hyped to death in the commercial world and now the EC is adding to the marketing bluster.

But to reach that goal the EC said it must cut through the “jungle of technical standards” so that interoperability, data portability and reversibility and necessary standards are in place by 2013.

The plan is also to support an EU-wide certification scheme for “trustworthy cloud providers” and establish “safe and fair” contract terms including SLAs.

The EC also said it will create a European Cloud Partnership – consisting of gov IT procurement officials from all member states – to pull together the public sector’s buying power (one-fifth of all IT spending in the region) to shape the market; help local providers gain competitive scale; and deploy cheaper clouds to raise eGovernment services.

The EC has already lost out to the US and Asia in the tech revenue stakes, and EC Vice President Neelie Kroes said: “Without EU action we will stay stuck in national fortresses and miss out on billions in economic gains.

“We must achieve critical mass and a single set of rules across Europe. We must tackle the perceived risks of cloud computing head on,”

“Technologies involved in the cloud are deflationary – the aim is to make computing cheaper not more expensive. Is the EC saying that SMEs will grow their business that much faster in the cloud? I don’t see it,”

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned businesses that they are still responsible for the safety of the data they own – even when that data is in the cloud.

The regulator put out guidelines today for businesses on keeping data safe in the cloud.

According to Hughes, the main problem associated with the cloud strategy, timetable, which he thought already well behind schedule.

Prematurely leaked to the public report has also been struck by the number of cloud service operators. For example, the Commission’s estimates of cloud economic benefits as well overdone.

According to preliminary data, the EU Commission expects cloud services to create the IT sector, 3.6 million new jobs and provide the economies of EUR 900 billion in stimulus to the end of the decade.

“Cloud praise it does not solve the problems in the field, such as data security and data management and access rights-related problems.”

Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/eun+pilvistrategia+taistelee+aikaa+vastaan/a842597?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-27092012&