|
The purpose of this
paper is to explore the
terms currently available from cloud service provider contracts.
The paper begins by outlining the types of cloud services that are offered
and the types of implementation that are commonly available for these cloud types. It then moves
into a discussion of the framework that was used
to analyze the contracts. This framework consists of four groups of “Term Categories,” which would be necessary elements
of a contract in order
to fulfill the recordkeeping needs of an organization.
Utilizing this framework,
the paper then analyzes the contracts of ten cloud
service providers from North America and Europe. It assesses each contract to determine the degree to which each necessary category is addressed within the contracts and discusses each of the terms that
are relevant to the identified
categories. The paper finds
that contracts primarily protect the interests of the service providers and largely fall short of providing assurances for the recordkeeping needs of the clients of these service providers.
The lack of adherence to recordkeeping needs in provider-client agreements has implications
for the long-term preservation of born-digital
records.
|