Cloud computing is at the forefront for many organizations across the world. Experts believe it is the future of IT. Considering all the benefits offered by the cloud, making the transition may appear inevitable to enterprises. But just like any major technology, it also comes with certain caveats – security and privacy of business data and legal compliance among others. While these concerns are now well known, the most obvious disaster that can befall a business depending on cloud computing is still largely overlooked – what happens when the cloud provider shuts shop?
Consumers have already woken up to this scenario when Google shut down its popular RSS aggregator Reader. A cloud service provider may close its doors for any number of reasons: bankruptcy, business failure, breach of contract, being acquired by a bigger company or even regulatory problems. If the provider is located in another country or is privately held, the risks are even higher.