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Boilerplate Contract Language Gets Indiana to the Cloud

The state’s chief privacy officer, Ted Cotterill, talked recently to Government Technology about standard contract terms that ensure third-party vendors protect data privacy in the age of cloud computing.

T. Cotterill, CPO, State of Indiana
Government Technology
Government IT organizations increasingly look to the cloud as they modernize their operations, often favoring the agility, scalability and overall ease of cloud-based solutions as compared to on-premise options for certain workloads. For example, the 2018 Digital States survey from the Center for Digital Government* revealed that states name cloud computing as their No. 3 technology priority, behind only cybersecurity and shared services. 

But agreements with vendors for as-a-service solutions introduce new considerations for government. Who owns the data? Where does it reside? What happens when a vendor-client relationship ends or a cloud provider is bought or goes out of business?

Indiana Chief Information Officer Dewand Neely talked to GT in 2016 about his desire to move as much of the state's storage to the cloud as possible — a move he viewed as critical to his plan to downsize data center space.

And at the annual NASCIO conference this past October in San Diego, Indiana Chief Privacy Officer Ted Cotterill talked about a tool the state now has in its arsenal to make it easier for Indiana to take advantage of the benefits of the cloud. Standard contract language is now being used to make sure the state's interests are protected as it enters into as-a-service agreements. 

*The Center for Digital Government is part of e.Republic, Government Technology's parent company.

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.