Cloud needs solid standards to build trust

Organisations worry about being locked into one cloud services provider

If cloud computing is to fulfil its potential in the IT mainstream, service providers must work harder to develop standards so users can switch between clouds, warn industry experts.

In a debate on the future of cloud computing and outsourcing at the 360IT conference yesterday, the industry panel kept coming back to the issue of interoperability through standardisation.

Moderating the debate John Walker, visiting professor of science and technology at Nottingham Trent University, said service providers “must not ignore the economics of standardisation”.

One of the biggest fears for potential users of cloud services is that they will lose control of their data and applications and become locked into a service provider. The ability to switch between providers is essential and must be based on clear standards.

“Cloud computing is like public transport,” Gregor Petri, adviser on lean IT and cloud computing at CA Technologies told delegates. “If the tube gets stuck, you get on the bus; if the bus is late you jump in a cab.”

He predicted a future where enterprise customers replicate services across different clouds to ensure against the collapse of any one provider jeopardising their business.

But to do that, stronger standards of interoperability are required to build trust among end-users.

“Trust is fundamental to the take-up [of cloud],” Errol Rhodin, EMEA director for service provider solutions at Symantec, told delegates.