Cloud Computing Industry Attempts to Police Its Own With CloudCode
Bad cloud, bad cloud, whatcha gonna do?
Cloud computing as an industry is a little too much like the wild, wild west, far too unregulated for companies whose mined data is as important as bags of gold nuggets. Wanting to provide some measure of security, cloud services organizations and companies whose daily bread is earned through trusted relationships with their clients have decided to band together and create a set of guidelines for the rest.
The New Zealand Computer Society has put together a basic code of conduct for companies providing web-based computing services, calling it CloudCode. The conduct code can be read here and is voluntary. The Society knows you have to start somewhere, because there are already bad apples out there in the cloud computing barrel.
According to Joy Cottle, CloudCode facilitator, "The CloudCode is proactive, not prescriptive, based on what the industry is asking for both from a consumer and supplier perspective and more importantly a code of practice that is easily adopted by the providers and easily understood by the consumer."
"A lack of understanding of the accepted definitions of cloud computing and what it entails, results in a situation where services are being offered that don't meet what are generally considered acceptable standards of practice," said the Society.
Although according to the NZCS, "those that have already seen the document approve of its simplicity and ease of adoption," they continue to seek input on the body of work. "All feedback is welcome and there are some specific areas that we are looking for comments on," said Cottle.
Questions NZCS wish to receive help in answering include whether or not to request compliance with all services provided by a cloud computing provider, and whether or not the code should be applied to the product versus the provider.
If you're interested in helping formulate a codice that could one day guide the day-to-day operations of an emerging and potentially world-changing industry, by all means read CloudCode and provide your input.
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