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November 2010 Feature: The Cloud

December 27, 2010

Cloud computing will be the biggest trend in the IT industry over the next year, according to research analyst Gartner. The hype surrounding the cloud is ever increasing and organizations worldwide are asking, “What does that mean for me?” This is the exact question the RIM professional should be posing and answering for themselves.

Cloud computing will be the biggest trend in the IT industry over the next year, according to research analyst Gartner. The hype surrounding the cloud is ever increasing and organizations worldwide are asking, “What does that mean for me?” This is the exact question the RIM professional should be posing and answering for themselves.

“Cloud technology is riding the crest of the hype wave: it seems to feature of virtually every CIO’s strategy list for the next few years,” writes Ed Fowler, Head of IM Innovation Council, Capgemini UK. “While the tools (SharePoint) are improving, the information deluge is gathering force and threatening to swamp organizations. The familiar problems of email growth, document proliferation, reliable access to information and endless searching are getting worse. Compounding these problems, innovations like cloud-based technologies are blurring the definition of what an organization is actually responsible for.”

Now is the time to position the information management profession and professional in your organization at the forefront of this trending topic. Consult and start a dialog about what the cloud means and why records and information will need to remain secure, despite the shared space.

For example, organizations must understand the functionality of the particular cloud-based software utilized to allay the potential risks. If using social networking in relation to cloud services, it is important to remember that any electronically created and stored information developed or used during the routine course of business is subject to an organization’s recordkeeping requirements and legal scrutiny.

According to ARMA International’s Guideline for Outsourcing Records Storage to the Cloud, “Storing data or using applications in the cloud does not relieve the organization of the responsibility for the protection or management of its data. The organization must ensure that private data, or data with a limited scope or accessibility, remain secure and that access is managed.”

Ultimately it’s the owner of the data that is responsible to preserve the integrity and exposure of their information – not the cloud service provider. The exposure of sensitive information will reflect poorly on the owner of the data more severely than the provider of the cloud service, which is why the time is now to manage the conversation and steer the ship of information management and technology through the cloud and beyond.