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A cloud consumer uses Service Level Management to make decisions about how it uses cloud services. For example, a consumer might notice that the CPU load on a particular VM is above 90%. In response, the consumer might start another VM. However, if the consumer’s SLA says that the frst 100 VMs are priced at one rate, with more VMs priced at a higher rate, the consumer might decide not to create another VM and incur higher charges. As with the provider, Service Level Management helps consumers make (and possibly automate) decisions about the way they use cloud services.

Debating the terms of an SLA is meaningless if the organization has not defned its business level objectives. A consumer must select providers and services based on the goals of the organization. Defning exactly what services will be used is worthless unless the organization has defned why it will use the services in the frst place.

Although SLAs are commonly thought of as defning the provider’s responsibilities, they should be clear about the consumer’s responsibilities as well. Consumer responsibilities might include limits on system usage, restrictions on the type of data that can be stored, or having a valid license for any software used on the provider’s systems.

The cloud can be an invaluable resource to keep an

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Many organizations have legal requirements that data must be kept for a certain period of time. Some organizations also require that data be deleted after a certain period of time. Cloud providers must be able to prove they are compliant with these policies.

A common source of data leaks is the improper disposal of hardware. If a cloud provider’s hard drive fails, the platters of that disk should be zeroed out before the drive is disposed or recycled.

For critical data and applications, providers must be proactive in notifying consumers when the terms of the SLA are breached. This includes infrastructure issues such as outages and performance problems as well as security incidents.

Cloud providers can often use diferent defnitions for the same key performance indicators, which can make it difcult to compare cloud services. A set of industry-defned terms for diferent key performance indicators would make it much easier to compare SLAs in particular (and cloud services in general).

If a failure to meet the terms of an SLA has fnancial or legal consequences, the question of who should monitor the performance of the provider (and whether the consumer meets its responsibilities as well) becomes crucial. Often consumers and providers

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