Building a Flat Earth for the Cloud

Think Cloud Computing is a global phenomenon? Think again perhaps for now. Some countries are threatening the future of Cloud - and rather interestingly most of the culprits are those who’ve made a fortune out of offering low cost offshore outsourcing destinations.

India, Brazil, China and South Africa all get a ticking off from the Business Software Alliance in a study of 24 countries which were scored in seven areas, including intellectual property protection, infrastructure and support for industry-led standards to promote smooth data flows.

Brazil came bottom - only 35.1 points out a possible 100 – despite the BRIC economies being set to soar, while the so-called ChIndia ‘Eastern Tiger’ economies of China and India also came under fire. South Africa doesn’t fare much better.

Japan – the focus of a great deal of attention from Cloud vendors such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite – came top. It was followed closely by other developed countries including Australia, Germany, the US, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and South Korea, which all scored in the high 70s. The report notes:

“The Scorecard finds a  sharp divide between advanced economies and the developing world when it comes to cloud readiness. Japan, the united States and the European union member states, for example, have each established a solid legal and regulatory base to support the growth of Cloud Computing. This is significant because the full benefits of a global Cloud Computing environment require a broad network of effective laws and regulations. Only in that way will the potential efficiencies and economies of scale enabled by the Cloud truly take hold. ”

It’s important to get to grips with this, adds the report:

“For governments, Cloud Computing presents a two-fold opportunity: the chance to improve productivity and citizen engagement through IT procurements as well as the benefit of encouraging economic growth, sustainable job creation and higher wages and standards of living by encouraging the IT economy. Cloud Computing is a technological paradigm that is certain to be a new engine of the global economy. Attaining those benefits will require governments around the world to establish the proper legal and regulatory framework to support ”

Cloud Computing. So what’s needed to create a global playing field? According to Robert Holleyman, president of the BSA, the answer is a need for a rallying round by:

“the international technology community around the need for greater harmonization of laws so a truly global Cloud can come about. Right now, too many countries have too many different rules standing in the way of the kind of trade in digital services we really need. ”

Take that last remark as an allusion to the tensions between US providers – who do after bankroll the BSA - and European legislators. A number of US Cloud CEOs have recently hit out at what they see an effective trade barrier in the shape of EU data protection legislation. It is important that the right decisions continue to be made by the legislative regimes – both those at the top of the scorecard and those at the bottom, advises the BSA:

“Countries on both sides must be vigilant not to take steps that would hurt their chances of growing the cloud market. Already many countries plan new laws that will help them advance in the digital economy. Some — such as Mexico’s new privacy law — have the potential to advance a country’s score. Others — such as the proposed data Protection regulation in the European Union, which has the potential to undermine its benefits with new, overly prescriptive rules — threaten to undermine the economic advances that a truly global Cloud can provide. ”

The best model for best practice is Japan, argues the report:

“The country is a leader in Cloud readiness and easily topped the Scorecard rankings. Japan has a comprehensive suite of modern laws that support and facilitate the digital economy and cloud computing — from comprehensive privacy legislation that avoids burdens on data transfers and data controllers to a full range of criminal and IP law protections. Further, Japan is a leader in the development of international standards related to cloud computing, and the country is working to provide all households with high-speed fibre broadband connections in the next three years. ”

The BSA recommends a seven point course of action for all governments:

Protect users’ privacy while enabling the free flow of data and commerce.
Promote cutting-edge cybersecurity practices without requiring the use of specific technologies.
Battle cybercrime with meaningful deterrence and clear causes of action against criminals.
Provide robust protection and vigorous enforcement against misappropriation and infringement of Cloud technologies.
Encourage openness and interoperability between Cloud providers and solutions.
Promote free trade by lowering barriers and eliminating preferences for particular products or companies.
Provide incentives for the private sector to invest in broadband infrastructure, and promote universal access to it among citizens.

The State of the World - source: BSA

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Building a Flat Earth for the Cloud

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