JISC Legal Cloud computing and the law toolkit

JISC Announce Press Release

31 August 2011

JISC Legal responds to cloud computing developments

Colleges and universities now have a toolkit to help them make confident, informed decisions about the legal issues surrounding cloud computing.

JISC Legal has responded to a growing demand for guidance on cloud solutions by creating a comprehensive ‘Cloud computing and the law’ toolkit. The aim of this resource is to guide educational professionals through the legal aspects of implementing cloud computing solutions in their institutions.

Dr Stuart Brough, director of Information Services at the University of Strathclyde, welcomes its release: "Up till now it’s been difficult to find a practical toolkit on cloud computing and the law created specifically for the education sector. This timely new JISC Legal resource will fill that gap," he said.

Colleges and universities have a particular responsibility to protect the intellectual property, research data and confidential records of staff and students. Compiled by JISC Legal’s team of ICT law experts, the toolkit contains accessible, up-to-date information about cloud computing in an educational context. It’s designed to meet the needs of a range of educational professionals, including academic, research and support staff.

Alex Hawker, JISC programme manager, said: "In this challenging economic environment, universities and colleges are now looking at new ways to provide services for their students and staff including using cloud-based technology. At JISC we’re aware that with innovative new technologies like cloud, many organisations will need support to understand the intricacies of how it works and what the legal implications are – so this guidance aims to build confidence among staff in working with a cloud provider."

According to JISC Legal service director, Ralph Weedon: "We created this toolkit in response to a growing demand from the FE and HE sectors for up-to-date guidance on cloud computing in this area. It’s designed for a range of educational professionals and we hope that it will help them to feel more confident in their understanding of the legal aspects of cloud services."

The five publications in the toolkit are:

• Report on cloud computing and the law for UK further and higher education

• User guides on cloud computing and the law for IT; for senior management and policy makers; for users

• Cloud computing contracts, service level agreements and terms and conditions of use