Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/45522
"The best predictor of a given cloud provider's future performance is past performance." Fortunately, many cloud providers are not only transparent about their data handling practices (and those of their third-party providers), but several also allow you to choose the geographic location of your data storage. This flexibility can allow law practices to elect the most appropriate jurisdictions for data storage (e.g., in the United States for Americans, and in the EU for Europeans), while at the same time reducing the costs associated with maintaining physical servers in diverse locations. As a general rule, the attorney should always understand (and the client should always accept) the location of the data storage, and the location and data practices of every provider behind the cloud solution, prior to storing any client data. 22 Risky Business ILTA White Paper 4. How and where are the data backed up? Designing and implementing a proper backup and recovery protocol is a key component of any successful IT implementation. Although some understandably treat the backup and recovery process as part of the IT complexity to be outsourced when engaging a cloud computing provider, as part of your due diligence it is imperative to question and understand the strategy employed by your cloud provider. The frequency with which backups are performed sets a functional ceiling as to how much work can be lost in the event of a disaster. If backups are only performed once per day, it is conceivable that you