Service level agreement important for data management in the cloud

Firms looking to use cloud computing for their database management need to pay close attention to the service level agreement they have with the third party provider.

According to Carolyn April, one of the authors of the CompTIA second annual Trends in Cloud Computing report, firms using virtualized data storage are effectively putting all their information in the hands of another company.

As breaks in service and resultant losses at one point or another have to be anticipated, the service level stipulated in the contract agreement is of critical importance, Ms April suggests.

"It's important for these customers to sit down and ask [about the SLA] and not just read the contract after the fact because every company has unique qualities and things they need," she added.

Kaspersky Lab recently warned companies thinking of adopting cloud computing that they need to assess the specific risks to data security presented by a third party operator.