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Down to earth guides
for cloud computing
The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has produced a series of Better Practice Guides for Australian Public Service Agencies looking to use cloud-based computing and IT services.
AGIMO blogger, Glenn Archer said finalised versions of the guides were now available online.
Mr Archer said the guides were developed to reflect the responsibilities of Agencies governed by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) in the context of the Australian legislative and regulatory environment.
“AGIMO is aware of the global issues surrounding the privacy and security of information in the public cloud and is working internationally and domestically to mitigate the impacts of these issues,” Mr Archer said.
He said the three guides to be published were Privacy and Cloud Computing for Australian Government Agencies, Negotiating the Cloud – Legal Issues in Cloud Computing Agreements and Financial Considerations for Government use of Cloud Computing.
He said AGIMO would also be investigating potential whole-of-Government procurement approaches for cloud computing during 2012 and advised Agencies to monitor its blog for further information.
Mr Archer said the Better Practice Guides formed part of the Cloud Framework which was a Stream One deliverable of the Government’s Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper.
He said additional guidance would be prepared for Agencies on other aspects of cloud computing as necessary, possibly including areas such as governance of community clouds and further guidance on business management and procurement practices.
According to the guides, cloud computing agreements - “like cloud computing itself” - appear in a wide variety of forms.
“These can range from simple standardised click wrap agreements to multilayered sets of terms and conditions,” they say.
“There are, however, a core set of legal issues that agencies should consider.”
The guides also say that despite common perceptions, cloud computing had the potential to enhance privacy safeguards used by Government agencies but they needed to be aware of their privacy and security obligations, conduct a risk-based analysis of their information, and ensure that the contractual arrangements they entered with providers adequately addressed their privacy obligations.
The guides also warn that adopting cloud-computing solutions could involve complex financial considerations and advised Agencies to conduct financial modelling to determine the cost-benefits of a cloud-computing solution compared to “in-house” investments and factor in the costs of disaster recovery and delivery of core business.
All the Better Practice Guides can be accessed at AGIMOs’ website this PS News link.
Edition 301, 21 February 2012
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