Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes is convinced that the public sector can play an important role in the development of cloud computing. She announced the creation of a European Cloud Partnership to harmonise the procurement of these services by public authorities, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on 26 January. The Commission will finance the launch of this initiative in the amount of €10 million, she added.

Cloud computing is a concept that uses the storage and computing capacities of networked computers and servers. It gives users access to data through the internet without the need for specialised installations and infrastructures.

“Public information technology (IT) procurement is large, about 20% of the market,” but today it is fragmented with limited impact, explained Kroes. “We can harness this buying power through more harmonisation and integration.”

The commissioner called on public authorities and industry to join this European partnership and hopes the first results will be visible in 2013.

In practical terms, the partnership will be established in three stages. The first will develop common requirements for cloud procurement, covering standards, competition and security (eg effective data protection). It will also explore the need to ensure that customers can change their cloud services provider. During the second stage, the parties will have to demonstrate the feasibility of the concepts for the common requirements before developing reference implementations in the third and last stage.

Industry has reacted positively to this initiative. “Cloud computing has the potential to enable better public services for less cost. Widespread adoption in the public sector will drive awareness, trust and confidence in cloud services, which in turn will be good for the European cloud services market,” said Digital Europe Director John Higgins. Business Software Alliance echoed that view, but stressed the need to set up a regulatory framework that effectively encourages competition.

STRATEGY

This partnership is one component of the EU’s cloud computing strategy that the Commission plans to present before summer 2012. The aim is to make Europe not just “cloud friendly but cloud active,” said Kroes, who is determined to overcome all obstacles. The strategy is expected to address interoperability, standardisation, certification, data portability and data protection and conservation.

Public information technology procurement is large, about 20% of the market, but today it is fragmented with limited impact