The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) announces its support for Slalom, a recently launched European Commission initiative to unify the terms and conditions of cloud computing contracts and service level agreements (SLAs).
The aim of Slalom is to create a legally worded, open and ready to use SLA and contract template, one providing consistent specification for metrics providers to compete on and unify general responsibilities and liabilities. Basically a cloud constitution, in simpler terms.
"We have repeatedly said that uncertainty around legal issues in Cloud computing forms a barrier to adoption through perceived risk and a lack of trust. This is a barrier that has been highlighted time and again in the research we have conducted amongst the end user community," the CIF says. "Customers must ask those awkward questions about the rights and obligations of each party and what happens when one of the parties fails to fulfill their contract, and even which jurisdiction would cover which issues of the contract."
Slalom initiative members include companies such as Atos, law firm Bird and Bird, the National Technical University of Athens and the University of Piraeus. It is supported and funded by the EC through the H2020 program.
