Information Stewardship in Cloud Ecosystems: Towards Models, Economics, and Delivery

Abstract

We discuss the concept of information stewardship in cloud-based business ecosystems. The constituent concepts of stewardship -- which we believe will be crucial to the successful development of cloud-based business of all kinds -- extend those of security to encompass concepts of objectives, ethics/values, sustainability, and resilience: all familiar from the stewardship of natural resources. Our view is based on rigorous approaches from mathematical systems modelling and economics, and is informed by concepts from natural resource management and information assurance.