The cloud computing session at the FIA Budapest revealed that the network as such has not been forgotten in the design of clouds, however, its effects and consequences perceived at the application and user layer have been omitted in the sense of a clear determination of contracted parameters and service guarantees. Thus, the combination of social facets (perceived Quality-of-Experience) and economic facets (costs for paying for the right level of guarantees) are still under investigation as well as in search of for a good, may be best solution of optimal services delivered and costs associated with them.

The presentation 1 sees the unavailability of a global SLA and its related business implication as a major economic obstacle for clouds being used in critical business processes – thus, determining the key economic facet. The presentation 2 underpins that not a single best way needs to be found and engineered, but the best mix of available options need to be selected to enable the optimal cloud service offering. The presentation 3 stresses the fact that interconnection aspects are relevant for providers and consumers, however, that management-related effort of the provider are much higher compared to their benefits achieved. The presentation 4 outlines that the cloud improves the user experience in case of relevant and complete SLAs being negotiated. Finally, presentation 5 shares the idea that the optical network technology can be brought into the cloud, which includes energy-awareness and cost efficiency.