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Written by Mark Bailey, Partner at Charles Russell Speechlys

Charles Russell Speechlys has published a white paper in association with UKCloud entitled, “Bringing clarity to the cloud: practical guidance for the procurement of cloud services”. The paper is intended to provide practical guidance to those buying and selling cloud services and to clarify the legal framework that currently exists.

The paper focusses on the impact of data protection on the cloud procurement process in the light of the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, and the need for advisers to cloud providers to ensure that the cloud procurement legal parameters are fit for purpose, properly address liability and compliance issues and ensure an adequate allocation of risk and reward.

Mark Bailey, Partner and co-head of the TMT sector, commented: “We hope this paper will encourage both providers and buyers of cloud services to think through the consequences of what they are doing, to understand that the law is intended to provide a framework to help them.  We have shared the current landscape and provided practical guidance to help, as we have seen some stretching of the legal boundaries in the market, and encourage anyone who is unsure to seek advice.”

Simon Hansford, Chief Executive Officer at UKCloud added: “The government has been very vocal about its aspirations for the UK to be one of the ‘safest places in the world to go online’. GDPR is in itself designed to harmonise data protection law across Europe; regardless of the country’s upcoming exit from the EU, it is still of utmost importance for businesses to be on the front foot for the arrival of GDPR. This whitepaper takes a very practical approach to explaining GDPR compliance when buying cloud services, with advice on what to watch out for, and what to prepare for. If cloud procurers can take the steps to ensure they are compliant with GDPR now, they will be better prepared to contribute to the health of the UK’s digital economy both now and in the future.”

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