Larry, as you know, I have been in government for a very long time, so let me translate: I think what is being said is that the government will work collaboratively with industry to identify and test specific elements of cloud computing to confirm that those elements provide certain capabilities, but is hesitant to develop or impose industry standards. This allows potential government users to know what they are getting into, and what they are not getting. It accelerates the use of cloud computing by allowing for its incremental adoption where the to-date proven capabilities are sufficient to meet a federal agencies needs, and also provides feedback to industry to develop and evolve this emerging technology. In my opinion, this is a prudent course in that the technology is in its infancy, and if you start imposing legally binding standards at this early stage of the game, you run the risk of stifling future innovation. Remember how electronic imaging requirements were locked in by regulation early on, only to become obsolete and ultimately ignored in relatively short order? This approach, in my opinion, allows for a more incremental, innovative, and evolutionary adoption path. Its justified because the potential cost savings of cloud computing are truly significant, as are the risks. If I'm reading this correctly, this allows for a reasonable path between those two needs. Now back to wonderland...... Dwight Wallis, CRM Records Administrator Multnomah County Records Management Program 1620 SE 190th Avenue Gresham, OR 97233 phone: (503)988-3741 fax: (503)988-3754 [log in to unmask] List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message. mailto:[log in to unmask]