SLALOM, the initiative established to develop standardised Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and contract terms for Cloud services, has delivered the final version of its model contract terms. According to the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), the development is a major step forward for the Cloud industry, promising to lower the barriers to entry for SME Cloud providers and make it easier for end users to safely migrate to the Cloud.
SLALOM was launched in January 2015 by the European Commission. It aims to drive forward legally-worded, open and ready to use SLA and contract templates that will provide consistent specifications and clarify the general responsibilities and liabilities of end users and Cloud Service Providers (CSPs).
A number of key stakeholders at a European and international level, including CIF, the European Commission, projects within the EC’s Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 framework and ISO, have been involved in the initiative, and after much discussion and a public consultation, SLALOM has published its recommendations in a model contract. It has been designed to provide a starting point for new contracts or be used as a benchmark for comparing existing ones and, critically, it can be modified in line with the specific requirements of CSPs and end users.
Alex Hilton, CEO of the Cloud Industry Forum, commented: “Cloud contracts remain a major stumbling block for both providers of Cloud services and end users; something that hasn’t been helped by the fact that there has been little consistency in the terminology in the terms used. From an end user point of view, that lack of consistency makes it difficult for businesses to know precisely what they are getting into when entering into Cloud service agreements and where liabilities and responsibility for Cloud service delivery lie. In providing a standardised set of contract terms, SLALOM can reduce that uncertainty, putting end users on firmer ground when moving to the Cloud.
“Similarly, a relative lack of understanding of Cloud contracting amongst CSPs has resulted in contracts being used which are not particularly well-suited to the services being provided. Our latest research on the UK IT channel has found that around half (47 per cent) of CSPs would like additional support from vendors on Cloud contracts and SLAs, and 70 per cent identified contracting as a challenge they have had to overcome. The net result is that CSPs have had to spend considerable amounts of time and money on legal advice devising their contractual agreements. SLALOM’s work in this area should streamline that process, lowering the barriers to entry for smaller Cloud providers and making it easier for them to compete,” he concluded.
