In a new, far-reaching study by BSA | The Software Alliance that ranks the cloud computing readiness and assesses cloud computing policies around the globe, the UK ranks nine out of 24 leading IT economies. This fall of two places since the last ranking in 2013 is a sign that the UK is in danger of lagging behind other faster-moving nations in creating an ideal legal and regulatory environment for cloud computing.
The 2016 BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard ranks the cloud computing readiness of 24 countries that account for 80 percent of the world’s IT markets. Each country is graded on its strengths and weaknesses in seven key policy areas. The report has been created to provide a regulatory blueprint for policy in order to enable cloud innovation and data to flow across nations, at the same time preventing protectionist laws from being passed.
This year’s report finds that although the UK has a comprehensive set of cyber and data protection laws in place, outdated data registration laws are acting as a barrier to some cloud services. As a result, it has been outranked in the report this year by Italy (8th) and Canada (4th). The UK has dropped a total of three places since the first edition of the report in 2012.
Cloud computing allows anyone — a start-up, an individual consumer, a government or a small business — to quickly and efficiently access technology in a cost-effective way. These services in return open the door to unprecedented connectivity, productivity and competitiveness.
The overall results of this year’s BSA report reveal that almost all countries have made healthy improvements in their policy environments since the release of BSA’s previous Scorecard in 2013. But the stratification between high-, middle- and lower-achieving country groups has widened, with the middle-ranking countries stagnating even as the high achievers continue to refine their policy environments.
“It’s worrying to see the UK starting to fall behind other faster-moving nations in creating policies which enable cloud innovation,” said Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance. “It’s critical for global leading nations like the UK to be on the front-foot in creating robust policy frameworks fit for the digital age to prevent protectionism, so governments, businesses and consumers can benefit from the various benefits cloud computing offers. The report is a wakeup call for all governments to work together to ensure the benefits of the cloud around the globe.”
In terms of overall ranking, the biggest improvers were South Africa (moving up six places) and Canada (moving up five places).
The top five countries in the rankings are: Japan, the United States, Germany, Canada and France.
Notably, three of the countries that have trailed in the rankings — Thailand, Brazil and Vietnam — continue to make significant and consistent gains and are closing their gap with mid-tier countries. The world’s major IT markets remained stable with modest gains.
Negative trends emerged as well. For example, few countries are promoting policies of free trade or harmonisation of cloud computing policies. Russia and China, in particular, have imposed new policies that will hinder cloud computing by limiting the ability of cloud computing service providers to adequately move data across borders.
