Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IaaS) Clouds Are Local And So Are Their Implications

Many leading infrastructure and operations professionals looking for more innovative ways to reduce costs and increase operational flexibility are choosing public IaaS cloud computing solutions. Their elasticity, low entry costs, and ease of use are well suited to supporting applications that follow Web or service-oriented architecture design or that fit well into virtual server environments. Their security, availability, and operational transparency are also rapidly maturing, which can make them more suitable for a widening array of applications. However, IaaS clouds do not provide geographic ubiquity, nor do they manage restrictions and compliance with local privacy laws. These issues remain the responsibility of the customer, and ignoring them may be perilous for any multinational or non-US corporation.