In 2011, Hewlett-Packard (HP) [HPQ NYSE] acquired Autonomy, the UK-based software company for over $10 billion dollars. After a collective gasp, the tech industry debated how a company like Autonomy could reach that level of valuation, and why HP, who has struggled for years finding its place in the modern software/hardware space, would empty the coffers to make the acquisition. After all, Oracle called Autonomy's former CEO, Mike Lynch, on his bluff, stating the market value of $6 billion at the time was overpriced, and this was before HP plopped down the whopping $10+. After a year of head shaking, we now know how they pulled it off – like so many other big-company-scandals, Autonomy cooked the books.

In the September/October 2011issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer, published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, practicing attorney and technology consultant, Shannon Brown, provides a very thoughtful and informative primer on the "why's and wherefores" of cloud computing. His article offers some important background for attorneys attempting to understand the "alphabet soup" of current cloud computing terminology.