The drive to improve end user understanding in assessing and selecting Cloud Service Providers will be a key theme for the Cloud Industry Forum at this year’s Cloud Computing World Forum.
The event, taking place at Earls Court on 12th and 13th of June, is set to be one of the biggest events in the Cloud computing calendar for both suppliers of services and end users.
The Cloud Industry Forum, industry partner to the event, will have a presence at the Show including a keynote address and CIF chair, Andy Burton, will moderate at one of the main sessions.
Andy Burton, Chair of CIF and also CEO of Fasthosts, stated: “This event will bring together an industry that is rapidly transforming the provisioning of IT. At the same time end users are looking for guidance and advice on how to procure these services based on the clear, consistent and relevant provision of key information about the organisation, its capabilities and its operational commitments,”
“The Cloud Industry Forum was formed by organisations which recognise that end users are seeking help in sourcing suppliers, which was why we launched our Code of Practice over a year ago,” he added.
“The Code itself is not intended to solve underlying technical issues or to guarantee the performance of cloud service providers. Rather, the objective was to create a more level playing field for organisations doing business in the cloud, to allow consumer organisations to make better-informed decisions about the choices available,” he continued.
“We achieve this through a process of self-certification?of vendors to a Cloud Service Provider Code of Practice requiring executive commitment and operational actions to ensure the provision of critical information through the contracting process. This Code of Practice, and the use of?the related Certification Mark on participants’ websites, is intended to promote trust?to businesses and individuals wishing to leverage the commercial, financial and agile operations capabilities?that Cloud-based and hosted solutions can provide,”
“Today we have a number of suppliers who have already attained Certification with over 50 other organisations in the pipeline. For end users seeking clarity in a new, dynamic and fast moving market, we firmly believe that the Code of Practice and associated Certification will deliver much needed transparency and trust to the market,” he concluded.