Cloud Computing - What Are You Signing Up To? An Analysis Of Standard Terms And Conditions

The benefits of cloud services are often cited. They're low cost. They're scalable. They're permanently state-of-the-art.

However, at least with traditional IT outsourcing, the customer can negotiate a balanced, even a customer-friendly contract. Cloud customers usually have little option but to accept standard T&Cs. It is a utility model, where multiple users each buy a slice of the same pre-existing service. Providers tend to have the "take it or leave it" mentality of a gas or electricity company, with little appetite for negotiating, even with large customers.

Researchers at Queen Mary University, London have studied the T&Cs of 31 cloud computing services, and found remarkable consistency. An analysis of their findings can be downloaded here.

We will not regurgitate all the findings, but the following were of particular interest.

Applicable Law, Jurisdiction and Limitation

Traditional outsourcing contracts usually stipulate the customer's law and jurisdiction. Typically it is the same as the provider's, so there is no argument.

Cloud service providers are not geographically tied to their customers, and tend to prefer their own law and jurisdiction. 15 of the 31 T&Cs chose a US State law. Only 10 stipulated English law for English customers; for various reasons. Only two of the 10 were because the T&Cs elected the customer's law.

Many had short limitation periods for bringing a claim. IBM, two years. Apple, one year. ADrive, six months.

Warranties for Performance of the Service

The paper said that this was perhaps the area where all 31 T&Cs were most similar.

Almost without exception, every provider went to considerable - and in some cases extraordinary - lengths to deny that any such warranty existed.

The paper quotes GoGrid's disclaimer which was fuller than, but not fundamentally different from others:

GoGrid does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from viruses or other harmful components. The Service is provided with no warranties regarding security, reliability, protection from attacks, data integrity, or data availability.

Many providers including GoGrid, Facebook and Amazon also exclude warranties of fitness for purpose or merchantable quality. Such disclaimers may be invalid if they conflict with the applicable law, but the previous heading notes that the customers' domestic law may not apply. Furthermore, some providers applying an EU law (including Apple) disclaimed warranties even though...