Be A Better Negotiator Of Cloud Contracts

The extensive – and expensive – impact of CrowdStrike's update, which led to global system failures in July, has company leaders considering vulnerabilities from their cloud-based software and services.

Many executives think they have zero ability to negotiate important terms – such as blanket acceptance of updates – in their cloud contracts. That is simply not the case; the terms of those contracts should be negotiated to mitigate risk to the enterprise.

Here are four standard sets of terms found in cloud contracts that executives, working with their legal partners, should have top of mind when they're negotiating terms.

Term 1: Service Performance Guarantees

Downtime of a cloud service can cause far-reaching disruptions to your business and operations, potentially leading to significant financial losses to the enterprise. Ensure the presented contract specifies sufficient performance levels given the relative importance of the availability of the cloud