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A BSA survey ranked India nineteenth among 24 countries in terms of Cloud preparedness from a regulatory standpoint.
By Mehak Chawla
A survey across 24 countries, that account for close to 80% of the global ICT market, revealed some interesting insights about Cloud computing. BSA’s Global Cloud Computing Scorecard sought to assess the Cloud computing preparedness across 24 nations and prepare a blueprint for the economic opportunity that lies in adopting the Cloud.
Among the primary findings of the report is the observation that, while Cloud computing is gaining ground much faster in developed economies as compared to the developing ones, regulatory policies are playing spoilsport for it in some areas.
Though the survey mostly focused on the regulatory environment in these nations, it also took under its purview other factors including ICT readiness, promotion of free trade etc. Overall, the countries were ranked on seven parameters that included data privacy, security, cyber crime, intellectual property rights (IPR) and support for industry led standards, along with the ones mentioned above.
The country that grabbed the top slot in this survey was Japan, a developed Cloud market that scored well on the micro-parameters of IP protection and privacy legislation. Japan was followed by Australia, Germany, United States and France in the top five. While Brazil ranked the lowest, India was ranked nineteenth.
Cloud preparedness in India
According to the BSA Survey, while there is a lot of activity revolving around Cloud computing in India, the laws have been unable to keep pace with the rapid developments in technology. Chris Hopfensperger, Technology Policy Counsel, BSA, elaborated, “India lacks on three fronts with respect to Cloud computing namely privacy laws, data protection and IP protection.” Hopfensperger also emphasized the need for a comprehensive, modern Copyright Act, that was in tandem with global practices. The Indian government is currently reviewing amendments to the Copyright Act 1957.
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“There are other practices like digital signatures that are prevalent in India. Since they are not always technology neutral, they become barriers for Cloud interoperability,” said Hopfensperger. An area where India scored poorly was with regard to the compatibility of privacy laws with the Privacy Principles in the EU Data Protection Directive. “When it comes to data protection, India does not follow any international model,” said Hopfensperger.
The absence of an effective agency for the enforcement of privacy laws was cited as a weak spot for India in the report. Gaps were found in India’s cross border information transfer regulations. “While India has no registration requirements for any parties under the IT Act 2000, there are some rules in place for the transfer of sensitive data offshore. While we believe that such restrictions are essential, data should be restricted by exception, not by rule,” explained Hopfensperger.
Although India is a member of the TRIPS agreement (agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), our copyright laws have not yet been updated to comply wholly with TRIPS. Also, India is not a party to the WIPO copyright treaty.
Free trade of information was also seen as a gray area for India in the survey as our government has not yet embarked on the path of technology neutrality. However, according to Hopfensperger, “By promoting interoperability through an emphasis on common services under the National e-Governance Plan, India is gradually moving towards greater openness. We can see a collaborative effort from the Cloud community on this front.”
Factors conducive to Cloud computing’s growth
The parameters that India scored well on were related to cyber crime and interoperability. The interoperability bit came as a bit of a surprise, since it is commonplace to hear issues pertaining to interoperability from IT heads. However, according to Lizum Mishra, Director, India, BSA, “Even though ICT is not covered in detail in the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1985, there is a comprehensive set up around the management of open standards.”
Though India ranks dismally low when it comes to broadband penetration, wireless is being seen as a panacea to the country’s broadband ills and it is expected to better the infrastructure landscape for Cloud computing. Other than that, added Mishra, “The Cloud could be a huge economic opportunity for the IT services and outsourcing industry in India, which has so far been focusing on application development.”
However, Hopfensperger said that there was a defined need for specific regulations to facilitate Cloud computing, if it was to become a pervasive phenomenon in India. The three critical areas that require the attention of policy makers, according to Mishra, were IP protection, privacy laws and broadband penetration.
“Developers in India should get the same incentives that are available to developers across the world in order to establish a healthy Cloud computing value chain,” signed off Mishra.
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