Inclusion of security requirements in SLA lifecycle management for cloud computing

Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an essential tool for managing cloud computing services. The support of the security requirements through SLA is fundamental to achieve the full potential of the cloud computing paradigm. In this paper we present how security requirements are addressed in a cloud computing SLA. Furthermore, a unified SLA lifecycle for cloud computing services is proposed. The relationship between security requirements and the lifecycle proposed is analyzed. Through the analysis, the current cloud computing security requirements scenario for the SLA context is identified in addition to its research opportunities.