Argue with your cloud vendors, advises expert panel

An expert speaking at Computing's recent Cloud & Infrastructure Summit added that he needs four separate additional services just to get Microsoft Office 365 to do what it's supposed to

Firms consuming cloud services are advised to argue with their cloud vendors over terms.

That advice came from Computing's Cloud and Infrastructure Summit, held recently in central London.

Speaking as part of a panel session, Nick Iannou (pictured), head of IT at Ratcliffe Groves Partnership, explained that he had an issue with one cloud supplier who decided to keep track of the software clients in use at his firm by using Windows version numbers.

"But Microsoft keeps changing version numbers with every update, which breaks the software," said Iannou. "And Microsoft sold me a system called Advanced Threat Protection, which I now call 'slightly better threat detection'. I'm basically paying to test something because I picked up two flaws while using it. That's not good enough, I'm paying for it! When it's something regarding security, that philosophy doesn't work because you're relying on it to protect you! That flaw that lets in a threat, and you can't accept that," argued Iannou.

He recommended that firms maintain responsibility for their own failsafes, as cloud vendors can never fully be trusted.

This chimes with the views of a panel at a recent security event who argued that you can't outsource responsibility.

"It's the same when you get a car, but you still get breakdown cover, you're still insured and you have a spare tyre. You factor in for things to go wrong. It's the same with cloud, don't assume backups are there from the vendor so you don't need to do it.

"You say to the vendor that you need that backup from six months ago, and they'll say they don't have it, they only store backups for 30 days. So check these things out up front. You may need to pay slightly more, and overall you don't save money, but you'll get something much better."

Iannou added that some cloud products don't quite live up to all their marketing hype, and again this is something that needs to be understood before any services are purchased.

"The problem with SaaS is getting it to work and cutting through the marketing spiel to see what it actually does. I have four other services working alongside Office 365 [O365] just to get it to do what you think it does.

"The SLA for O365 does not include spam. So if you want a spam filter that actuallly works, you pay for it. If you need to archive for compliance purposes, you pay again. If you want detailed reporting, you need something else. People sign up with a credit card and think it all works and it's done. But that's not the reality."

He continued: "In the same way you don't walk into a showroom, buy a car and walk out. I call moving into cloud the lease car deal with the devil. Because you're stuck, you've got the shiny car but you're forever paying. With one supplier I have, leaving costs the same as being with them for 15 years. But I don't mind, because it does what I want it to do," he concluded.