>One may safely refer to Web-based and cloud-based technologies in a single breath. It may be one of those things that needs to be qualified. Pretty much every

>One may safely refer to Web-based and cloud-based technologies in a single breath. It may be one of those things that needs to be qualified. Pretty much every Fortune 1000 enterprise runs some kind of a web-based intranet, which may or may not be accessible outside the VPN, with various services, from email, to document management, to ... anything. >if infrastructure data loss is an issue, Web-based data loss is a bigger issue HOW?! First, there is nothing preventing you from having your own backups. Second, even if you completely trust the cloud provider (and who says you should?), I claim that it is still safer than managing your own data for most business, especially if your business cannot afford a top-notch IT support staff (or any staff). If you're GE, you can invest in server-farms, if you're Plastic Widget Inc. you're better off with a reputable cloud vendor. > Businesspeople see the excitement and business benefits of cloud computing, so they're pushing for it. However, IT people see cloud computing as causing issues with security and lock-in, so they're pushing back. God-bless SysAdmins, but they do have a tendency to be anti-anything that comes in on their turf. They are almost never the decision makers. Having said that, you do realize that cloud services went from nothing (a few years ago) to a huge multi-hundred-billion dollar industry in the span of a few years, and growing. Clearly, SOMEBODY sees values. > The unique legal risks and considerations presented by the cloud are especially important and often overlooked by nonlawyers. Yes, there are "unique legal risks and considerations". What's your point? There are risks to cloud services, but there are incredible benefits as well. One always weighs risk and reward accordingly. The rewards is why the industry is growing. Here's an example of a 'unique legal consideration', Canadian hospitals cannot use cloud providers hosted on Amazon or anywhere in the US to host patient data because of things like the Patriot Act, so what do they do? They can go with a regional cloud provider that makes a guarantee that their data will not leave the province. I've seen that happen.