1、In a 2008 article the journalist Bill Thompson, writing about the fact that cloud computing takes place not in an immaterial cyberspace but in physical computers in the real world, said: In the real world national borders, commercial rivalries and political imperatives all come into play, turning th
2、e cloud into a miasma as heavy with menace as the fog over the Grim pen Mire that concealed the Hound of the Baskervilles in Arthur Conan Doyles story.The menace described in Bill Thompsons article was the unreliability of cloud services, including possible inaccessibility of data and access to data
3、 by foreign governments. In the rest of this article I will discuss these and other cloud computing topics for which there are foggy legal issues including subcontracting, rights to data use, lock-in to a service provider, and security loopholes.Cloud computing, the recent buzz word in the internet
4、market, in simple terms is the process of delivering hosted services through the internet. Though the concept is in its nave stage, it is generating tremendous interest among users of all types, and has become a promising business opportunity to venture in and explore.The cloud computing services ma
5、rket which is currently valued at USD 79.60 billion for the year 2011 is projected to grow steeply at a CAGR of 23.21% and reach a market size of USD 148.9 billion by year 2014. However, with rising competition and saturation and technology limitations, the market may see a drop in CAGR, but still g
6、row at a CAGR of 8.39% and reach USD 205.48 USD by year 2018.1） Cloud computing: what is it ?Rich Zippel of Sun Microsystems has described cloud computing as “the hottest, and certainly the most abused, buzzword in computing today.” Gartner Groups identified it as entering the peak phase of the hype
7、 cycle in July 2008. While there is disagreement about the precise definition, cloud computing essentially refers to means remote computing with software accessed through the Internet. This software is usually paid for according to the amount that it is used; in some cases there is also a modest sub
8、scription fee and in others the software is free for use and paid for with advertising. Cloud computing is part of a general architectural trend in the computer industry, moving from users doing computing on their own hardware using copies of software that they own, to users doing computing on other
9、 peoples machines somewhere in the cloud, using software that they rent. Cloud computing is related to （but not identical to） software as a service, grid computing, Web 2.0, on-demand computing, utility computing, Internet service platforms, and ASPs, all of which are buzzwords that were previously
10、popular.2） WHAT IS SAAS, IAAS AND PAAS ？With its cloud-first approach, there is no doubt that the federal government supports moving to cloud computing infrastructures. But there are different types of cloud models, each appropriate for certain scenarios and inappropriate for others: Software as a s
11、ervice; Infrastructure as a service; Platform as a service.SaaS, IaaS and PaaS are delivered in several ways: Public cloud: Where the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or industry as well as to your agency or department and is owned by the organization selling cloud servic
12、es. Private cloud: Where the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for your department or agency, and may be managed by your agency or by a third partyand may exist either on-premise or off-premise. Community cloud: Where the cloud infrastructure is shared by several departments or agencies that h
13、ave shared concerns such as mission, security requirements, policy or compliance considerations but may be managed by your agency or a third party and may exist either on-premise or off-premise. Hybrid cloud: Where the cloud infrastructure is a combination of two or more clouds （public, community or
14、 private） that are unique entities bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability.Figure:1 SAAS leading the cloud services 3. THE CLOUD MARKET3） Ranking and the scores of 24 countries surveyed by BSA Its a clear evidence of the cloud industry i
15、s still in its infancy. a few moths ago the Business Software Alliance （BSA） report about the best 24 countries prepared for the Cloud; first of all, I must be honest and recognize that BSA is not my favourite because of the way they use to get its goals, but they have a lot of media and they use to
16、 do good market analysis （disregarding the final goal of them）RankCountry NameScores01Japan83.302Australia79.203Germany79.004United States78.605France78.406Italy76.607United Kingdom08Korea76.009Spain73.910Singapore72.211Poland70.712Canada70.413Malaysia59.214Mexico56.415Argentina55.016Russia-52.317Tu
17、rkey52.118South Africa50.419India50.020Indonesia49.721China47.522Thailand42.623Vietnam39.524Brazil-35.12 24 countries ranking 4） WHAT DRIVES CLOUD COMPUTINGThe twin pressures of reduced budgets and the need for greater efficiency have led the federal government to strongly promote cloud computing as
18、 a solution whenever possible. In fact, the Office of Management and Budget in December 2010 declared that government now operates under a cloud-first policy, meaning that agencies must first try to incorporate some type of cloud computing into projects. And if they choose not to use a cloud scenari
19、o, they must justify their decision.“What this means is that going forward, when evaluating options for new IT deployments, OMB will require that agencies default to cloud-based solutions whenever a secure, reliable, cost-effective cloud option exists,” said Jeffrey Zients, chief performance officer
20、 and deputy director for management at OMB, in November 2010. According to a survey released in December 2010 by the 1105 Government Information Group, cost reduction, fast access to data and applications, and simplifying IT infrastructure and management are the top three reasons that federal agenci
21、es are moving to the cloud. Roughly half of the 460 respondents work for a civilian agency, while the other half worked for military agencies. And roughly half had non-IT titles but substantial roles in technology decision-making while the other half had IT titles.The survey also found most governme
22、nt respondents indicated that private, public or hybrid cloud computing will become a vital element in federal IT activity during the next several years. Indeed, roughly one-third of respondents have already adopted or are in the process of adopting one or more cloud implementations. Shedding even m
23、ore light on the potential of cloud in government, a study released in April 2010 by Market Connections found that government users are willing to use cloud computing for core functions of their IT infrastructure. Nearly one-quarter use cloud computing for mission-critical data management and an eve
24、n higher percentage is considering doing so. Input, a government technology market research firm, validates these survey observations as well. It predicts that the government market for cloud computing will more than triple from 2010 to 2014, to $1.2 billion.3 WHAT DRIVES CLOUD COMPUTING 5） Cloud Se
25、curity ConcernsAlthough the cloud provides many benefits for government, it also exposes data and systems to risk. Before any federal government agency moves to the cloud, it must be 110 percent sure that every possible security precaution is taken. Agencies are serious about cloud security. Accordi
26、ng to The Download on Cloud Computing in Government, a December 2010 survey by the 1105 Government Information Group, the most critical cloud computing security worries are potential data loss or leakage, robust identity authentication and credential management, and secure and timely identity provis
27、ioning. Other concerns include effective data encryption; physical security; insecure application programming interfaces; and account, service and traffic hijacking. The Download survey found that 55 percent of the 460 government respondents dont think cloud solutions are secure enough, and 59 perce
28、nt agreed that security risks associated with cloud computing implementation are greater than those for on-premise IT implementations. Roughly half of the respondents work for a civilian agency, while the other half worked for military agencies. And roughly half had non-IT titles but substantial rol
29、es in technology decision making, while the other half had IT titles. The Cyber Security Alliance also posted dire numbers. According to an April 2010 survey of federal agencies on collaborative cloud computing and cyber security, 70 percent of government technology decision-makers are concerned abo
30、ut data security, privacy and integrity in the cloud. Although some of these concerns are valid, some maybe due to a simple lack of knowledge, said Melvin Greer, senior fellow and chief strategist for cloud computing at Lockheed Martin.“In a survey we did in 2010 focusing on cyber security in the cloud, we found that the more people are aware of the cloud, the less concerned they are about security,
