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BSA: The UK is a good place to move to the cloud
Those customers concerned that a move to the cloud might be the wrong thing can take comfort in research that indicates the UK is one of the most robust places in the world to take the plunge
The UK is improving as a location for cloud services with the country taking a more robust and secure approach to the provision of hosted services.
The latest BSA | The Software Alliance Global Cloud Computing scorecard has seen the UK rise to fourth from ninth last time around in 2016.
The report looks at the cloud computing policies followed by countries and has given the nod to the UK largely because of the investments that have been made in security and data protection.
The looming introduction in May of GDPR has benefited those providing cloud services because of the need to take data protection more seriously. Combined with the focus on cyber security and the need for greater protection there are robust laws to try to ensure ecommerce transactions are done in a safe environment.
A lack of internet censorship and filtering and advanced intellectual property laws are also ticks in the positive column.
The BSA report did express some concerns about legislation going too far and stifling innovation in cloud and on IP infringement there could be more action taken on the enforcement front.
Where the research should help the channel is in convincing those users that have dragged their feet on moving to the cloud because of security fears. The UK is one of the most robust places to adopt hosted services is the main message from the scorecard.
“The Scorecard is a tool that can help countries constructively self-evaluate their policies and determine next steps to increase adoption of cloud computing,” said Victoria Espinel, president and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance.
"Countries that embrace the free flow of data, implement cutting-edge cyber security solutions, protect intellectual property, and establish IT infrastructure will continue to reap the benefits of cloud computing for businesses and citizens alike," she added.
Germany came top in rankings, followed by Japan, US and then the UK. Some of the lowest ranked countries included some of those most closely associated with being the originators of cyber crime, including Russia and China.
