Redstone calls for an end to confusing cloud SLAs

Public cloud companies, such as HP and Amazon, have recently come under fire for using confusing terminology along with placing the responsibility for detecting failures squarely on the customer’s shoulders. Redstone believes that the private cloud industry is equally as guilty of causing confusion regarding SLAs.

Fraser Fisher, MD of Redstone, says “HP and Amazon have been criticised recently for unclear service commitments. However some private cloud providers are just as guilty for providing incredibly ambiguous agreements. When you drill down into uptimes and penalties, it’s common to find that the only commitment made by service providers is to keep the power on rather than keeping the service running. That’s like buying a washing machine and the warranty only committing to keeping the lights on the front. SLAs should be providing a guarantee to get the clothes clean.”

“Let’s be clear about this. Some private cloud service providers are doing the industry a disservice. It’s time to ensure that the service bought is the service provided so that the enterprise is able to confidently provide its users with a guaranteed service. Without this, the enterprise won’t ever put its trust in the cloud to provide business critical services,” adds Fisher.

Fisher does add that the problem isn’t unique to the cloud industry however. "Look at the utility industry currently. Power companies are coming under pressure from consumers and Ofwat to simplify tariffs and billing. Surely as a relatively new industry the cloud market could learn from this early on.