Common cloud standards are necessary for business to thrive

Piers Linney, Co-CEO of Outsourcery, welcomes the recent news that the Cloud Industry Forum’s (CIF) Code of Practice for Cloud Service Providers has been formally recognised by ENISA (the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) after its addition to the Cloud Certification Schemes List (CCSL).

The addition of the CIF Code of Practice to the list confirms its value to the cloud market, as end-users seek to establish trust with their Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and means that the Code of Practice is recognised as an industry best practice scheme for SME cloud providers seeking to supply services across Europe.
Outsourcery is a founding member of the Cloud Industry Forum and certified against its Code of Practice back in 2013. This certification is key for Outsourcery as it serves two clear purposes: it makes a public declaration of professional and commercial intent on Outsourcery’s part as a CSP and it provides a visual mark of recognition that engenders confidence in the end-user that Outsourcery is open and professional in its commercial activities.

“Outsourcery is fully committed and invested in the CIF Code of Practice. Common standards in the European cloud market are key to establishing a union in which businesses can thrive, so it’s important that they are accessible to the whole spectrum of CSPs,” says Piers Linney, Co-CEO of Outsourcery. “Some standards out there are so onerous that only the largest CSPs can afford to comply with them, totally excluding the SME space where a great deal of innovation occurs. That is why I’m a big supporter of CIF’s approach. Its self-certification option keeps costs low enough that even companies with a handful of employees can achieve it.”

“Moreover, it’s not prescriptive as far as the technology goes, but rather an ethos and a commitment on the behalf of the provider to provide a safer, more secure and more transparent cloud. This recognition from the European Commission validates this approach,” concludes Linney.

Alex Hilton, CEO of the Cloud Industry Forum, says: “Standards are key to arriving at a common framework for cloud services, encouraging end-user confidence, removing any uncertainty and building a solid base upon which innovation can thrive. Recognition from the European Commission for our Code of Practice goes a long way to help us achieve that. We are confident that this will continue to help raise awareness of the importance certification and its three key tenets of transparency, capability and accountability in the cloud industry.”