CenterBeam, Inc.

With the federal government starting to move more of its processes into cloud computing, the federal CIO Council has released new security controls for agency-wide programs that standardize cloud requirements, according to InformationWeek. More than 150 security controls in 16 different categories have been defined from the Federal Risk Assessment Program that gives security requirements for the federal cloud.

With the advent of cloud computing among government agencies, David Roe writes on CMS Wire that he believes the industry will be crazier than ever in 2012.

The European Union has been looking at how to regulate cloud computing for months, and Viviane Reding, justice commissioner for the EU, said the old legislation needs to be changed to account for cloud technology.

While there are no standard rules for how to adopt the cloud, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has a cloud computing technology road map trying to guide people toward the correct way of using the technology. Rutrell Yasin of GCN's website said the road map contains many useful tips for deployment.

While there have been attempts to make rules and standardize cloud computing, it's still very much up to each individual company and user how it is used. But, a recent report from Horses for Sources shows that 80 percent of buyers of the cloud said they wanted better standardized business processes. Ann All on IT Business Edge said that is "good to hear" for everyone.

In growing the government's cloud computing outreach, the National Institute of Standards and Technology is trying to help businesses and agencies alike make their way into the technology, according to a post on Federal News Radio's website.

During the Boston branch of Wall Street Technology Association's Cloud Computing in Financial Services meeting, Charles Babcock of InformationWeek said that many executives were striving to find what adopting the cloud could mean for their business.

With cloud computing seemingly becoming extremely complex, the NetEvents business IT symposium in Rome said the industry needs to make it less complicated, according to an article on ITBusiness' website. Standards need to be formed, lest it become a stumbling block to adoption of the cloud

Security expert Alastair MacWillson told BankInfoSecurity's website that too many organizations overlook regulatory compliance when working with cloud computing vendors. He told the website that all regulatory issues are amplified in the cloud, so people need to work with caution.

Technology experts from across the country came to speak at a U.S. House Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation last week. InformationWeek said experts told the Congressional committee that cloud computing is critical to keep the country economically competitive across the globe.