David McCann is senior editor for technology at CFO.

Safe and Sound?

Regardless of its cost-saving potential, cloud computing often faces an uphill battle when it comes to concerns over data security. After all, data is flowing over a public network. While cloud firms can get a SAS 70 certification for their transaction-processing controls, there are not yet any widely accepted standards specifically for certifying cloud-computing security. Still, a recent report from Deloitte found that, "generally, the level of computer security, data-privacy practices, and expertise of major cloud-service providers are likely to be greater than those provided by an in-house IT staff and systems."

"Everybody in the cloud business is working on hardening security," says Brian Ott, vice president of the worldwide cloud program at Unisys. "Within two years, I believe it will no longer be the number-one issue making people hesitate to go into a public cloud."

Cloud computing also poses a different sort of data-security risk: the chance that your data may be hard to move should you switch providers. Deloitte cautions cloud users about the danger of "lock-in," that is, having your data managed in an operating system and associated architecture that inhibits portability. Intel CIO Diana Bryant agrees. "Providers will make it very easy for you to develop and run applications in their clouds," she says, "but it may be very expensive to port it into a different one, and they know it. The last thing you want is to have no choice." — D.M.

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