Is there Safety in the Cloud? An update from the Best for the West Cloud Computing Event

On April 30, 2010 about 32 higher education IT professionals gathered at Portland State University to pilot the concept of EDUCAUSE “Best for the West” programs. The title of the event was “Is there Safety in the Cloud?”  This page provides a brief summary of the topics discussed.

As many of us face the squeeze of increased demand and decreased resources, it is natural to look to the promise of Cloud Computing for answers. Some of us have quickly moved into the Cloud but many of us are skeptical. What is the right answer? What types of clouds are approaching? Are they bright, fluffy, happy clouds that make us feel good? Or can they big, dark, dangerous clouds that make us run for cover? What if a breach occurs in the Cloud? Are there special contractual issues to consider in Cloud computing?

Exploring the Cloud

There are many fine resources that will help you consider the opportunities offered by Cloud computing. An excellent starting point is the September 22, 2009 ECAR Research Bulletin “Demystifying Cloud Computing for Higher Education”.

Your constituents will likely raise important questions. Based on the material collected at the “Best for the West” workshop, you should be prepared to consider questions from a variety of perspectives.

Faculty

1.     How will it be secured? Can anyone else see my files?

2.     Researchers need to share data with others through out the country or world, how can this be accommodated and maintain security?

3.     I have 600 terabytes of data. If you force me to store this in the Cloud will access be slow?

4.     The current system work fine for me, why do I have to change?

5.     I don’t understand the technical terms you are using. None of this makes any sense to me. I have no problem now, what is the advantage?

6.     Who is paying for this? Where will the savings go? Will the saving be used for faculty?

7.     Will this solution expand on demand?

8.     What is the exit strategy?

9.     Will you be pitching another solution in 5 years?

10. Will this still be fully supported by IT even though it is outsourced? Where will we get help?

11. Will this require an increase to our Internet connection?

12. How can we ensure that the provider is being environmentally friendly or has sustainable practices?

13. Does this mean we can we get rid of the data center and replace it with a lab?

14. Will I have to maintain yet another username and password?

 

Staff

1.     What will this mean to us?

2.     Will I have to change my business process?

3.     What if the Internet goes down? How will we work without access?

4.     Is this solution HIPPA or FERPA compliant?

5.     So you are going to make our lives more complicated just to save IT money?

6.     What if we get sued? Can we get all the records from the provider?

7.     This thing is available 24x7, does this mean we have to work 24x7?

8.     Who will train us?

 

Senior Officers

1.     Why does your solution cost more than what we can buy at local computer stores?

2.     What if this goes bad? What if our data gets out into the wild?

3.     What other things will you want to move to the cloud? College Counsel is concerned. This puts too much responsibility on the individual to decide what might need to be treated as confidential or damaging. Everything should be treated as secure regardless of the cost.

4.     This sounds like you are just trying to shift costs out of IT to others.

5.     What happens if we lose connectivity in the middle of a class?

6.     What about the speed – will this work for high definition, research, and large data sets?

7.     Who are you to judge that my data is not essential? It is essential to me and must be stored locally.

 

Students

1.     How will my identity be protected?

2.     Will my teachers be able to access my files?

3.     How can I transfer my data when I leave the institution?

4.     Will this let me collaborate with my friends?

5.     Can I access this via my phone?

6.     Can I access this via FaceBook?

7.     Why are we doing this? Why can’t we just use GoogleApps, Twitter, etc?

 

The questions represent valid concerns and the answers better be available before considering any Cloud solution. Once you understand your institution’s concerns and tolerance for risk, you should incorporate these thoughts in your RFP or contract.

We encourage your to join the conversation and contribute additional questions, concerns, or success stories.