Is Wall Street Ready for Cloud Computing?

Can cloud computing take hold on Wall Street? Not in the current environment, as concerns about compliance prevent most financial services firms from considering moving apps and data to a cloud computing model, according to Senior Analyst Kevin McPartland at The TABB Group, which closely tracks technology trends for the financial industry. But that could change dramatically if financial regulators took a more active role, he said. "If the SEC, CFTC or the proper regulatory body looked at certain cloud environments and was able to certify that they were secure enough for customer data, then we would see a whole new industry within the cloud computing world of financial services-targeted firms, that would be registered with regulators and clients could be assured that their data was secure," says McPartland. "We think this could be a huge improvement for the industry."

Also relevant is The Cloud Computing Debate, a discussion between McPartland and TABB colleague Adam Sussman on Cloud Computing. For additional video, check out our DCK video archive and the Data Center Videos channel on YouTube.