In his Wednesday afternoon session, "The Changing IT Environment – The Clouds are Rolling In," Fred Iantorno, executive director of the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA), presented an overview of cloud computing technology, and provided attendees with a checklist of things to look for when considering a cloud-based service or application.
Cloud computing applications allow shops to access software and data that are hosted on servers in secure facilities, while saving them the expense of purchasing and maintaining their own servers and IT infrastructure. However, these solutions can introduce some security risks.
Security is of primary concern when evaluating a cloud- based or hosted software solution. Shops should ask providers what security measures are in place to protect their data from exposure or theft.
"There have always been concerns about how secure or not secure cloud infrastructure is," Iantorno said. "You have to make sure you know how security is handled. Make sure your contract specifies how security issues are going to be addressed."
Having repair data taken from shops and used by third parties has become a controversial topic in the collision industry as well, and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists is investigating what affect this has had on shops. Repairers are handing over their own repair data to estimating system providers without fully understanding, in many cases, how it is going to be used. It's unclear who truly "owns" that data, and most shops have little say in which estimating systems they use, particularly if their DRPs dictate the technology.
"When you use software as a service, typically you don't get your hands on the underlying data," Iantorno said. "In the case of a shop, you want to get that underlying data because the data is theirs. Some companies provide extracts to get at it, while others don't provide that functionality."
How are updates handled? If you are using hosted software, you want to know how often updates occur, and how much control you have over your own environment versus what the provider can control. If there are frequent updates, it can impact the stability of the software for the shop.
Another thing to watch for is service termination details. "If you decide to terminate the service, find out what your rights will be and how you go about that," Iantorno said, noting that plans should be in place relative to retrieving shop data from the provider so that information can be used internally, or transmitted to a new vendor. "Part of that is technical, but much of it is a contractual issue."
