I recently came across a cloud computing benefit/risk study conducted in the first half of 2011 by the IT Policy Compliance Group (ITPCG). It shows that best-performing organizations (which see higher profits and suffer fewer business disruptions and less data loss) use cloud computing significantly more than poor-performing organizations.

More than two-thirds of best performers use cloud computing — about half opting for private clouds, while 25% use hybrid clouds and another 25% use public clouds. By contrast, only 9% of worst performers use cloud computing.

Study findings also indicate that:

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Since the arrival in 2002 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as well as other more stringent financial accountability standards, the role of SAS 70 Type II audit and certification has grown. My company takes SAS 70 Type II audits very seriously.

That's because both SOX and SAS 70 Type II use the same model of controls — so a SAS 70 Type II certification is the best way third parties (like our customers) can be assured of acceptable, SOX-compliant service organization controls.

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Cloud Computing has been defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as “a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

No wonder the Sacramento chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI), the leading organization for senior-level financial executives, wants to hear about it.

I’ll be speaking about cloud computing at the Sacramento FEI October 18 Dinner Meeting at the California Chamber of Commerce (California Room, 1215 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814). 

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