Monday, August 22, 2011

Data Ownership in the Document Management Cloud

In a recent article posted on CRN by Andrew R. Hickey, entitled, Cloud Data Ownership: 'Onus Is On Cloud Providers' , Hickey raises a topic that should be top of mind for organizations considering a document management cloud solution like the Treeno Document Management Cloud. Who owns the data?

The data is, without doubt, owned by the company or organization that places the data on the cloud application for safe keeping by the document management cloud provider.

As with any business relationship it is a good practice to understand what will happen to your data if the relationship is ever severed either amicably or under stress.

Here are three important points when considering a cloud solution:
• The terms and conditions of access to the data now and in the future are clearly articulated in the license or use agreement provided by the document management cloud provider.
• A document management cloud solution has technology built in that allows an end user with the proper authorization to download all their data, or a subset of their data, without the technical assistance or professional services of the document management cloud provider.
• If the time to return of your data is stipulated by the document management cloud provider, make certain that it meets your organizations requirements.

Make these requirements part of your document management cloud provider selection process and you will avoid a “data hostage crisis” in the future.