On Wednesday, SIIA submitted comments to the European Commission’s (EC) cloud computing consultation, a public inquiry launched in May to develop a European cloud computing strategy that the Commission will present in 2012, which will “aim to clarify the legal conditions for the take-up of cloud computing in Europe, stimulate the development of a competitive European cloud industry and market, and facilitate the roll-out of innovative cloud computing services for citizens and businesses.” This is a laudable objective, and the EU should be commended for several aspects.
First, the EU is on track in recognizing the ability of cloud computing to spur growth by helping businesses, reduce IT costs and level the playing, especially for SMEs. Second, they’re looking to the public sector to utilize cloud computing to provide better services at lower cost. And, they’ve rightly identified the need for open standards and interoperability to spur competition and choice.
However, as part of this initiative the EU is also looking to potentially make significant changes to current laws, and possibly create some new ones. It’s this area where SIIA urges caution. Consistent with the guidance we provided in our recent cloud computing white paper for policymakers, our comments urge caution in this area, with a particular emphasis on maintaining a level playing field for software and IT services, whether offered locally, via traditional externally-hosted services, or by utilizing “cloud computing.”
In our comments, we also highlighted the greatest current barrier to cloud adoption: the considerable challenges posed by issues surrounding transnational data flows, particularly the challenges associated with conflicts of law and jurisdiction within the EU and beyond. This is not an issue that is specific to cloud computing, but it has been exacerbated by it.
While we won’t know for some time which way the EU goes on this one, there was some more good news announced by EU VP Neelie Kroes earlier this week when she announced at Dreamforce 2011, that former United States CIO Vivek Kundra–a strong advocate for government use of cloud computing—will serve as an advisor in helping develop Europe’s cloud computing strategy.