New technology trends, such as cloud computing and big data, are adding a new layer of complexity to existing computer systems. The need to provide timely and reliable services, over large volumes of heterogeneous data, is creating a demand for new methods, techniques and tools capable of dealing with this new scenario. Research efforts to improve the state of art in technologies to deal with system complexity are under way across the globe. Since its inception, ICECCS has been in the forefront as a forum in which to communicate such results. We are delighted to hold the seventeenth ICECCS in the city of Paris. We are pleased that we had a substantial number of submissions to ICECCS 2012, which demonstrates the attractiveness and relevance of the conference. There were 128 submissions in total, of which 37 were accepted for presentation at the conference and publication in the conference proceedings.