goCloud

Objectives

SMEs in the IT sector should be able to exploit the opportunities offered by Cloud Computing in order to offer their online services faster, more efficiently and to a larger audience. However, use of the Cloud requires specific skills which are insufficiently mastered by SMEs. On the technological side, enterprises willing to put their software online, with a pay-per-use basis while maintaining levels of service, must gain expertise to adapt their software to the Cloud, handle lack of standardisation among Cloud providers, and manage Cloud infrastructures or platforms. On the legal side, lack of knowledge of the rights and obligations of the parties involved which results in legal uncertainty is slowing the adoption of the Cloud. The goCloud project aims to helps IT companies to handle the problem globally, in relation to both technical and legal aspects.

Results

The project aims to guide enterprises at each step of their adoption of the Cloud and to help them build their own software toolbox for Cloud migration. To this goal, the project is defining a methodology, backed by tools, allowing to provide software, either new or legacy, more easily in SaaS mode, without imposing a specific technology.

Added value

Tools and recommendations issued from the project will allow companies:

• to reduce uncertainty and risk by validating legal constraints both from software providers to their customers and on the link between the software provider and Infrastructure (IaaS) or platform (Paas) Cloud providers,
• to obtain a new revenue channel by efficiently adapting existing software for use on the Cloud,
• to increase productivity by preparing their software for automatic deployment on the Cloud,
• to increase reliability and availability of provided services by being able to automate management of redundant Cloud environments used to run their software.