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Cloud contracts have become notorious for their unfair and non-negotiable terms which often leave companies tied into deals that don’t fully meet their business needs.

We’ve all heard it before: “cloud computing is so much more cost effective than in-house IT – move to the cloud and start saving today!” and “cloud computing will revitalise the British economy – sign up today for a free trial!”

We have to face facts: cloud uptake is on the rise – indeed, deployments are set to double by 2015 , and up to 200,000 UK jobs will be created by cloud computing technologies between 2011 and 2015. CIOs therefore have to accept that cloud is here, and here to stay. So what considerations must a CIO make when moving to the cloud, even if he entirely unwilling to do so?! Below, I have outlined some tips for any CIO who is either looking to move to the cloud, or indeed, is being pushed into making the move by his CFO or CEO...

Will an increasing uptake in cloud technologies lead to an increasing amount of “screw-ups” in the cloud?

Anyone that has seen Channel 4’s highly rated The IT Crowd will understand what I mean when I say that the IT support staff in the sitcom are not held in the highest of regards by the rest of Reynholm Industries’ employees. Indeed, the majority of the sitcom is set in the IT team’s office, or rather, their dark, dingy and unkempt basement, which is in stark contrast to the shining modern architecture and London views enjoyed by the rest of the organisation. Furthermore, despite the company's dependence on their services, the IT department is despised, and generally ignored, by the rest of the staff.

We've all heard the horror stories about cloud outages in high profile data centres run by the likes of Microsoft and Amazon. Be that as it may we need to keep these things in perspective. The fact is, when it comes to reliability and most importantly availability, it's highly unlikely that your systems and data could be better managed and supported within the on premise environments that most businesses trust their important computing assets when compared to the cloud.

Time is running out. If you are on ADSL we recommend moving to our Ethernet (EFM) / Fibre type connectivity as soon as possible in order to ensure uncontended access to our cloud. Its an affordable alternative to bridging the gap between broadband connectivity and leased lines.

Security in the cloud is a major factor in any business decision these days and here at Cloud Computing Centre we are proud of the cutting edge technology and robust security measures that we implement to safeguard the IT systems and processes of our clients.

Whilst Cloud Computing is still very much in its infancy, I expect great things are still to come for the industry once cruelly referred to as "just another fad". Below, I outline my predictions for the year ahead and where I see Cloud Computing technologies heading in 2012.

Power outages such as those experienced by the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft in recent months are not only hugely embarrassing for the cloud giants, but also incredibly disruptive for the affected users.