Cloud Computing Contract Negotiation: How Mapping Business Requirements and Implementing SLA Monitoring Provides Companies a Safe Place to Fall

 Reliability and performance metrics guide cloud providers and organizations in communicating expectations in their business relationships. While metrics fail to safeguard performance in the cloud, organizations gauge their responses according to the performance the cloud provider defines in the SLA. Organizations hold the responsibility to monitor cloud metrics and adjust software solutions according to the unique implementation of cloud services. Unmet business requirements should be addressed with new solutions that ensure business continuity, data resilience, and quality performance for consumers. 

Business requirements, stakeholders, and security teams must be considered when forming cloud agreements. Organizations that leave quality assurance to cloud providers risk harmful security breaches.  While organizations should monitor cloud relationships, the SLA serves as an entry point for analysis rather than an actual agreement with a cloud provider. By establishing strong monitoring assessments, organizations discern where to invest their resources in the cloud based on its continued level of service.

While cloud providers situationally offer service credits when performance agreements are not met, cloud providers offer no recourse for organizations experiencing below-quality services. Like in any relationship, organizations must establish a trusting relationship with the cloud provider and implement appropriate safeguards to address areas of concern when infrastructure and service implementations fall short.

Drafting and Negotiating Effective Cloud Computing Agreements addresses data concerns, insurance concerns, intellectual property, liability, technical implementation, and post-execution concerns to mitigate financial and security risks in the cloud, in addition to performance and service availability metrics (Overly, 2015). The SLA, while not an actual agreement with the cloud provider, serves as a crucial entry point for analysis and a guidepost for understanding expected performance levels. Organizations must establish and nurture a trusting relationship with their cloud providers based on monitored behavior over time while ensuring safeguards to address concerns when infrastructure and service implementations require adjustment. Cloud contract negotiation and SLA monitoring provide companies with a safe place to fall when organizations view SLAs as metrics guidelines rather than rigid agreements. As organizations consider business requirements, SLA monitoring encourages organizations to develop comprehensive solutions that leverage the cloud while ensuring quality assurance and maintaining cloud provider independence.

Resources
Overly, M. (2015, December 1). Drafting and Negotiating Effective Cloud Computing Agreements. Foley & Lardner LLP. https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/practical-guidance-journal/b/pa/posts/drafting-and-negotiating-effective-cloud-computing-agreements

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