17 May 2011
The European Commission (EC) has launched a public consultation on cloud computing.
The results will feed into the EC's work on a European Cloud Computing Strategy which should be in place no later than 2012, according to Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda.
She said: "I want to make Europe not just cloud-friendly, but cloud-active. We can deliver cloud computing by using research and innovation to bring about better clouds. Along the way we can modernise our computing infrastructure and give our SMEs a new platform for innovation."
Kroes also cites the cloud as a principle reason for pushing the Digital Agenda.
"Broadband for every European is the Digital Agenda's ICT infrastructure policy. People often ask me what will be done with all that bandwidth. I am convinced that cloud computing is an important part of the answer."
The consultation is in the form of a questionnaire which can be accessed online.
Cloud computing promises great corporate riches and points to a brave new world of operational efficiency. However, the uncertainty around security, management and outsourcing is raising pertinent questions on its standardisation. Regulatory change is essential, and certainly looks promising with the European Commissioner’s public consultation. But if the hopes of Neelie Kroes’ ‘cloud active Europe’ are to be realised, the consultation will need full participation of businesses if the issues holding back the mass adoption of cloud computing are to be clarified.
Regardless of ambitious, yet perhaps feasible, predictions of cloud revenues over the next few years, businesses need to realise that, like any transformational technology, something as strategic as cloud is going to be initially disruptive. Public consultation is the perfect opportunity to gauge business relevance and opinion on cloud computing and should hopefully help to manage any over-zealous expectations and pressure from external vendors.
Posted by: Fraser Kyne at Citrix 23 May 2011
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