Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and SAP opine that Cloud Computing opens up new growth prospects for ITC industry in Europe – businesses and politicians need to act now:
Both companies propose a five-point program to realize the benefits of the cloud economy.
- Create a European legal framework to harmonize data protection and security across Europe.
- “European Cloud Gold Standard”: European industry should create a European seal of quality for cloud services to increase acceptance of cloud applications.
- Innovation in the cloud: the European Union and member states should put more into supporting cloud-centered public sector research and development programs.
- Cloud computing for SMEs: Software should be promoted specifically for SMEs to use cloud computing. This does not require any additional resources, as the European Union has already provided enough funds in the current program period.
- Public sector as pioneers: The public sector is a major purchaser of IT solutions in Europe, so it should set the trend toward the cloud economy. If all authorities used these services more, that would help them penetrate the market considerably and create confidence in the seal of quality.
In 2010, around USD 21.5 billion was invested in cloud computing and related services. By 2015, that figure is expected to more than triple – to around USD 73 billion.
European ICT providers can clearly benefit from this growth if they start their own operations and European politicians create the right conditions for this. These are the findings of the study entitled “Survival of the fittest – How Europe can play a leading role in the cloud,” by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and SAP AG.
The EU, local authorities and ITC suppliers need to act to profit from these growth opportunities. For instance Cloud computing would create a new boost for jobs market in Europe: the cloud economy could generate at least 70,000 new jobs a year.
