Friday

29th Mar 2024

New research claims Europe can close US clouding computing gap

Europe is lagging behind the US in the cloud computing economy according to new research released by the London School of Economics.

The new study, titled ‘Modelling the cloud’ was commissioned by IT-giant Microsoft, and focuses on the economic effect of cloud computing on the aerospace and Smartphone sectors in the US

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The EU is keen to tighten up its cloud strategy (Photo: *n3wjack's world in pixels)

It claims that US cloud-related smartphone services jobs will increase from 19,500 in 2010 to 54,500 in 2014. This compares to an estimated 4,040 equivalent jobs in the UK, with the authors arguing that this is the result of lower electricity costs and more liberal labour regulation compared to the EU.

Although the research forecasts a continuation of the Smartphone sector boom, with cloud-related jobs in the smartphone services sector expected to grow by 349% in the UK, 280% in Germany and 268% in Italy, compared with 168% for the US.

Speaking at the launch event for the study in Brussels on Monday (30 January), Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that businesses were excited by the potential economic gains from cloud computing commenting that “cloud computing will change the way businesses do IT, and it will change our economies.”

“I think we could all do with a productivity boost right now”, she added.

The study follows last week’s launch of a European cloud partnership by Commissioner Kroes, at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The partnership, which the Commission has backed with an initial €10 million, will see public sector organisations and the IT industry working on common EU-rules for cloud procurement. Europe's public sector IT market accounts for 20 percent of Europe's total IT market but is fragmented.

The partnership is expected to report back in 2013, with Kroes arguing that cloud computing could “promise scalable, secure services for greater efficiency, greater flexibility, and lower cost.”

Meanwhile, the LSE paper also comes at a time when enthusiasm for the economic potential of cloud computing is curbed by widespread concerns about data privacy and protection.

Last week, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding set out legislation for data protection in EU including a “right to be forgotten”, giving users the right to take their data away from companies and have it deleted. It would also require firms to get explicit approval from customers to use their data for marketing purposes.

Referring to the proposals, Commissioner Kroes commented that businesses and customers “worry about the service they will be getting, about risks of lock-in and whether they can trust the provider with their data.”

She added that the EU Cloud Strategy would help businesses “get clarity on issues like standards, privacy, data portability, legal liability and applicable jurisdiction.”

New cloud strategy to reform EU online market

Digital agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes has promised to present a European cloud strategy this summer, as part of a plan to reform the online market in the EU.

Germany leads EU countries on cloud computing

Five EU countries rank among the world’s top ten for policies that promote cloud computing, according to a study published on Wednesday by an ICT body representing Microsoft and other international software giants.

Opinion

Why are the banking lobby afraid of a digital euro?

Europeans deserve a digital euro that transcends the narrow interests of the banking lobby and embodies the promise of a fairer and more competitive monetary and financial landscape.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us