Cloud study identifies essential opportunities for Australia

The Australian Information Industry Association today welcomed the release of a Lateral Economics study commissioned by Macquarie Telecom into the Australian cloud computing services environment.  The report, The potential for cloud computing services in Australia, was officially released at Parliament House in Canberra this afternoon.

According to the report, ‘Australia’s opportunity is to develop a world-leading regime – a better, not equal, cloud ecosystem.’ 

The report identifies Australia’s stable political and regulatory regime as a key factor in the potential for success, alongside a vibrant ICT sector that has already made substantial investments in the industry.   It also calls out the positive impact of the NBN on business and consumer confidence in cloud solutions.

"The opportunity to define the nation as a preferred global destination of cloud computing services is precisely the kind of initiative we need to grasp in order to position Australia strongly in the emerging global economy,” said AIIA CEO Suzanne Campbell.

"Like all technology-driven initiatives, strong engagement between the key stakeholders is essential. In particular, coordination of government regulatory environments with initiatives across the private sector will be central to developing the right outcomes.”

Government priorities identified in the report include pioneering the separation of local supply and export in cloud so as to exempt foreign purchasers of Australian services from regulatory requirements that exist in Australia only to protect Australians. This means taking the same approach to cloud services as is currently being undertaken in education and financial services.

"This will leverage Australia’s a advantages to minimise data security and privacy risks,” said Suzanne. "Self-regulation of industry in close partnership with government will also be important.”

"The Lateral Economics report notes that Australian industry is already proactive in this area, with a number of key companies developing consistent approaches to transparency and accountability.”

Australia’s potential is as a global destination for cloud computing services is also supported by a vast potential to source clean energy – a distinguishing factor for companies looking to develop sustainable business models through cloud applications. Major risks for Australia included our distance from key markets due to latency, long-distance capacity issues and the cost of international telecommunications links.

"It is extremely valuable to see studies into these issues provide credible support for consistent policies and approaches to technology-driven business models in Australia,” continued Suzanne. "This is about systemic change: there is no one issue that will create the desired outcomes. Australia needs to take action on a number of fronts.”

"We face strong international competition and our own unique challenges in this marketplace, which is why we must capitalise on our strengths and work intelligently towards positioning ourselves in a market that will be very significant into the future,” concluded Suzanne.

[ENDS]