You're right, of course, that 100% uptime is a dream and a goal, but most likely an impossibility. Insurers are investigating many aspects of cloud. As I spoke to representatives from the world of insurance, it appears they are trying to get their hands around the problems; the opportunities, and the possible solutions. As companies place more data and systems in the hands of partners, there are more risk factors, risk factors that will eventually (insurers believe) lead to lawsuits when/where there is any kind of failure, whether that is technical/natural/or manmade due to breach of contract or unforeseen circumstances. Insurers and brokers are trying to figure out all the permutations but recognize they are not technology firms.
They are not, I don't believe, looking to insure the data itself. They are not involved in DR. Instead, they are looking to insure companies financially for the time they lose. As part of their insurance policies, the insurance companies' clients will have to go through risk assessments (just like health and life insurance clients undergo a physical) to make sure they meet certain requirements.
While I am beyond companies and brands wanting to make sure that they have zero downtime, that is a wild dream. Anything can happen and I think that is what sort of makes the whole industry thrive. But as we all also know that is a curse as well. Yes, I will admit that people and companies had a great amount of luck with the cloud during Hurricane Sandy, but what would have been different if their cloud's servers were hit? They would be back at square one again. So I hate to be the bubble buster here, but it is a long shot dream for both sides sadly.
I know, from speaking to insurance executives, that the industry is realizing that they cannot dictate clients' IT infrastructures. Sure, part of the equation is security. And that's one reason so many organizations opt for inhouse or private cloud for more sensitive areas of their business. Any datacenter is subject to failure, though. Insurers must figure this out because one company will. And as soon as one insurer has a viable model, others will kick themselves that they weren't first to market with a solution to a CFO's problem, a solution BTW that will also encourage further adoption of cloud, I think.
I believe - and I am not an insurer - that these policies complement other policies. Just as you might have an umbrella policy, you may want a cloud insurance policy to cover, among other things, the cost of moving to another provider if your first provider closes its doors; the costs of lost business if your cloud provider self-combusts ... with your data, etc.
Presumably we'll see standard forms of coverage gradually emerge from the industry, but I wonder how long that will take?
I can imagine insurers robustly defending the position that "computer network" doesn't just mean any computer network anywhere which you happen to be using!
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Social media has been with us for a decade -- but employer policies and the law are anything but firm about the most appropriate usage of this powerful tool.
Businesses often struggle to decide which domain to use. When it comes to purchasing a domain name, you have plenty of extensions to choose from, ranging from .com and .net, to .me, and even .mobi. But which one should you pick?
I've been writing about how the next evolution of the Internet might just be an advertising revolution, and how corporate IT can stay involved as the enablers and providers of the technologies that make this possible.
In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
