Researchers from the QMUL Cloud Legal Project at the University of London recently shared their findings on the top issues of contention between providers and customers of cloud computing engagements. As enterprises speed headlong into cloud migrations, many of the trickier and complicated contractual and legal obligations are still being worked out. Although cost may be a major consideration in choosing your cloud provider, responses to the following questions are also important.

1. Who’s liable for damages?

Interruptions in service usually entails the right to be compensated for lost business. On the cloud landscape, however, providers mostly refuse to accept liability. Even large corporate customers had problems getting a provider to accept any monetary liability, which often turned out to be “deal breakers” in the end.

2. What about SLAs?

Service Level Agreements commit a provider to availability and performance levels, and are often negotiable through adjustments in pricing; the more you are willing to pay, the better guaranteed performance.

3. Does availability extend to data?

Cloud providers often emphasise how redundant and fault-tolerant their clouds are, but often fail to extend their guarantees to data integrity, and will not accept liability for data loss.

4. Where is the physical data storage location?

The European Union’s Data Protection Directive prohibits storing of data outside of the EU. Some cloud providers are unwilling to disclose their data centre locations, and there are also technical difficulties verifying where the data processing occurs even if they do.

5. How can I avoid lock-ins and exit when needed?

Some cloud providers are asking for huge early termination penalty fees, no doubt in order to offset upfront capital costs spread over the term of the contract. There are also limited “notice windows” for non-automatic contract renewal, so make sure these are not missed before the contract rolls over into another term.

6. Who maintains data for legal and compliance issues?

There hasn’t been much discussion around the need to retain data for legally required purposes, but this will become increasingly important in the future. How much assistance (long term data storage and data format exchange) cloud providers are willing to provide may be a differentiating factor in the future.

7. What happens when service offerings change?

Standard contractual terms drafted by cloud providers often give them the option to change certain or all contractual terms unilaterally. This may cause difficulties in adapting to new provider specific application programming interfaces when things change.

8. How are intellectual property rights maintained?

When cloud providers with system integration capabilities develop applications for their customers, one customers may demand intellectual property rights to these enhancements and deny the improvements to other customers who may be potential competitors.

9. What are the reasons for service termination?

Non-payment usually results in direct service termination, but more complicated cases involving complaints of one user against another for breach of intellectual property rights can also lead to termination. Providers also stipulate termination may occur for breach of acceptable use policies and any form of material breach. 

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If you want to kick-start your career with a coveted job in an IT company of your choice, you need to do more than earning the required credentials for the job and drafting an impressive curriculum vitae. With a number of eligible candidates vying for the same position, you need to prepare for the interview process as well, so that you come across as the ideal candidate for the job. Doing so will not only help you be better prepared to face the interview panel but also aid you in re-evaluating your career choice and skills. Moreover, it will boost your confidence and create a good impression on the interview panel. 

Assessing the interview environment

The first thing that you need to do while preparing for an interview with a leading information technology company is do extensive research about the organization. This includes learning about the history of the company, its senior management, your job profile and how you plan to fulfill your job responsibilities if recruited. For example, if you are interested in joining CSC India, you need to log onto the official website of the company and check out the CSC careers section to get more insight about the position you are applying for in the company. 

More about IT jobs

Whether you are applying for the position of an engineer, a developer, a manager, or a consultant, learning about the job profile will help you be better prepared to answer any question that may pop up during the interview. Of all the job profiles mentioned above, managers are the highest paid professionals followed by developers and engineers.  Moreover, given the increasing reliance of people around the world on computers and IT, there are lots of job sites in India that one can apply for. these profiles come with a good scope of growth. 

Qualifications necessary for the job

Though a bachelor’s degree in a related field will suffice for you to enter the IT job market, you can expect your professional growth to multiply with a postgraduate degree. Furthermore, if you are gunning for an important managerial position in the company, you can get it much quicker if you have a master’s degree in business administration from a reputed institute. 

Preparing for the interview

If you want an upper hand in the interview process with an IT company, you should carefully review your CV and analyze your strengths and weaknesses. That apart, you should practice with your friends in a mock interview session where you can summarize your academic and professional achievements concisely. Furthermore, you should highlight your industry experience, career highs, skills, and key accomplishments for the benefit of the interview panel. This will emphasize how your experience and skills fit the job profile that you are being interviewed for at present. 

Researching the company

Thereafter, you should do your homework about the company, go through its financial report, and speak with friends, family members, or colleagues who have worked or are still working in that company. It is also recommended that you research the IT industry in general and read up latest news related to the vertical.