IBM inventors have patented a technique that helps clients automatically analyse and manage the location where their public and private cloud data is stored, thereby enabling companies to comply with regulations governing where data can be stored in different countries and continents.
The patented invention – Geographic governance of data over clouds: US Patent #8,676,593 – allows users to dynamically choose or change the location where cloud data resides, ensuring that businesses adhere to local or regional compliance and security regulations.
Cloud computing offers many benefits through the scalability and ease of use enabled by providing access to information stored in data centres often based in remote, disparate geographical locations. A challenge that can arise from the cloud model is the need for cloud providers to manage and govern content in accordance with regulations specified by government agencies in different countries or continents.
The invention serves as a smart routing device for cloud data, enabling business owners to have greater control over where their cloud data is stored and thereby more easily comply with local laws.
The invention allows companies to mark or tag their data and use an intelligent cloud management system to store files in the appropriate location. For example, if a business needs to ensure that all of its financial data is stored in a specific cloud data centre, the associated files are tagged appropriately and the cloud management system ensures that the files are stored in the correct location(s).
“During the early years of cloud computing, it was evident that storing and accessing business data across geographically dispersed cloud computing environments could present logistical and regulatory challenges,” says co-inventor Sandeep Ramesh Patil. “Our team of inventors designed a system that will allow businesses to efficiently manage and move data in the cloud, while meeting required compliance mandates in different countries.”