Q&a With Cloud Industry Forum Chairman Andy Burton

While we officially announced our membership in the Cloud Industry Forum today, we had the opportunity to speak with Fasthosts CEO and Cloud Industry Forum Chairman, Andy Burton last week. Andy has over 15 years managing technology companies in the security, monitoring and asset management markets, and has built them successfully through a commitment to B2B markets and a passionate belief in the role of well structured channel partnerships. We are excited about the opportunity to work with Andy and the Cloud Industry Forum, and we're looking forward to shaping the future of cloud standards and the Code of Practice.

SL: What triggered the founding members to form the CIF? What problem did you see that needed to be solved in this way and what do you hope to achieve from founding CIF?

AB: We established the Cloud Industry Forum with one goal in mind - to promote confidence and trust in end users for the adoption of online/hosted services. There is a lot of hype, scaremongering and diverse opinions about cloud computing and so we believe the best possible way to help inform the end user community was to develop a public facing Code of Practice to standardize and certify enterprises offering Cloud Computing services, from which end users could make a rational, informed decision.

We know from our own research that a major hurdle for increased adoption of the cloud by businesses is that organizations need clarity around what the service providers do and don't offer. They also need to know what financial and operational substance there is behind these providers and what assurances are in place in regard to security, confidentiality and service level achievement. Covering a diverse and emerging industry won't be easy but we're confident that there is both a desire on the part of credible service providers and by the consuming business community for such a standard to help benchmark and validate exactly what is provided by any particular company. We see the launch of Code of Practice driving up standards so that the industry and the customers both benefit.

SL: How do your partners work together to establish cloud computing standards?

AB: Interest in CIF has been growing rapidly since we announced its formation in 2009 and since that time the founding members have been working hard to develop a detailed Code of Practice.

What was critical in the development of the Code was not only a process of public consultation but critically a period during which our members could pilot the Code of Practice itself. That took several months and raised a number of issues that had to be resolved relating to governance, transparency, capability and accountability. At the end of 2010 both the Cloud Industry Forum and its members felt confident that we had a credible and certifiable Code of Practice which was launched in November so that the market now has that benchmark in place to set standards for improving customer confidence and experience.

SL: What can end users (consumers and suppliers of cloud services) and those who have not yet ventured into the cloud, hope to gain or learn from CIF?

AB: Cloud-based (or online/hosted) services are growing at a phenomenal rate ranging from Infrastructure to Platform and Software as a Service (IAAS/PAAS/SAAS ) and so this sector needs practical and accessible control and transparency mechanisms. By laying down the Code of Practice, the Cloud Industry Forum has now established a credible gauge for customers to assess a vendor's capability to deliver a robust and secure high quality cloud service. With this clarity of information in place, the industry can now move forward and be judged on its ability to deliver.

It was absolutely essential that all major stakeholders in the cloud ecosystem see the clear benefits in the Code. It had to include end-users as well as the various vendors and providers in the supply chain. At the end of the day this is about building trust in the Cloud and we firmly believe that the Code of Practice will deliver just that. After all, the business benefits of this transformational technology are now well known, but what is holding back adoption for many is the age-old paranoia's of fear, uncertainty and doubt.

SL: As the CEO of Fasthosts, how has your foray into cloud services shaped your thoughts about the need for cloud computing transparency and best practices in the industry?

AB: For Fasthosts, cloud services delivered as secure Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) and themed business applications like email, storage, back-up and Disaster Recovery are an essential capability to offer our customers and represent an increasing share of our business.

As a professional, well resourced and considered business, we quickly became aware of how easy it was for other less credible companies to purport to deliver anything and everything to the market based purely on their website claims and image. There was no way for unsuspecting prospects to filter the claims made by different prospective vendors. Couple that with the perceived lack of confidence in Cloud based services where research on both sides of the Atlantic clearly indicate this, whether it be from mis-information, concerns over supplier ability or data security and privacy, and you have a challenge to overcome to get heard and be trusted.

The advantages of cloud services over on-premise are often well understood, but making a clear choice of service provider is less clear, and the industry has not made it easy for end users to understand the opportunity or to map their needs onto potential supplier capabilities. This is a key lesson I have learned from my day job as the CEO of Fasthosts!

SL: The CIF fills an industry void, not just in the UK and Western Europe, but in the US and ROW. Do you plan to expand the CIF to the US? If so, do you see any material differences between the two markets and how will the CIF address them?

AB: Let's be very clear here, there is no intrinsic difference between the US and any other market when it comes to what is being sought by end users from online services. By nature you can typically access any service anywhere in the world via the internet with the appropriate privileges; the boundaries are typically not physical but legal and regulatory between any given sovereign territories.

The Cloud is here now and despite the hype it is here to stay. According to recent findings by research firm IDC, cloud IT services are currently worth 10.7 billion globally and is estimated to grow to around 27bn by 2013. These are staggering predictions and something for the industry and end users on both sides of the Pond to be excited about. The economic and innovation implications are profound for businesses adopting cloud solutions as it reduces the barriers to entry for small and mid-sized companies to have a world class agile and secure infrastructure without the capital expenditure traditionally required.

The Code of Practice is relevant anywhere as it is based on best practice and respects the needs of the small business and the enterprise. To that end we see the expansion of the Code of Practice into the US, Europe and Asia as a natural evolution, driven by industry and end user demand.

SL: What role do you see ScienceLogic playing in CIF?

AB: CIF members are directly responsible for the shape, format and governance of the CIF Code of Practice and as such are instrumental in influencing public confidence and industry best practice.

ScienceLogic is an important addition to our membership roster because they focus on one of the biggest challenges facing service providers and their customers: How to manage the performance of cloud infrastructure and prove the level of service being delivered. Their expertise in this area will be beneficial to our overall mission as their technology fundamentally underpins our 3 core pillars of Transparency, Capability and Accountability of participating service provider operations. We look forward to working with ScienceLogic to help provide sound advice to the market and to set a benchmark for the monitoring of world class cloud services.