In Monday’s New York Times, there’s a lengthy piece about how companies in the United States are slowly joining cloud computing.  The concerns about the use of cloud computing are not new, but companies are still grappling with how to address those concerns:

Now cloud providers are trying to bring these types of flexible services to the more conservative and lucrative world of large corporations. Although most large companies have taken their first cautious steps into the cloud, many are anxious about data failures and slow delivery of data over a network. They also fear that their confidential information could be vulnerable on another company’s systems, out of their control.

To alleviate those concerns, Google held a daylong conference last week called Atmosphere at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, selling its cloud computing services — like e-mail and business software — to executives of large corporations.

I’ll be talking about cloud computing and the impact it is having on employers at the ABA Technology in the Practice & Workplace Committee Midwinter Meeting next week in New York.  While not giving away any secrets about the presentation, I can tell you that we’ll be discussing the fact that there still isn’t a lot of guidance in this area and that coming up with a "best practices" list is still a challenge.

But as the New York Times article also discusses, there are many advantages that employers can take advantage of so long as the risks are understood and addressed.  We’ll try to provide some practical suggestions for employers during this presentation. 

It’s not too late to sign up. Hope to see you there.