Cloud for European project officially launched
Cloud for European project officially launched
The European Commission has launched its Cloud for Europe research project, which aims to increase trust in the concept of cloud computing across the EU.
The initiative was officially launched in Berlin at an event attended by EC vice president and Digital Agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes.
She said: "We don't need national mini-clouds; we need a European cloud that is trustworthy, secure and ambitious. We aren't there yet. There are many barriers to data flows within Europe. We need to identify them, figure out how you might dismantle them, and look at the costs and benefits.”
At the heart of the €10 million scheme is the EC’s attempts to firm up data security to persuade more European business users to adopt the cloud. The research project is working with 23 organisations in 11 countries to find out what puts people off the technology and then look at solving the issues. The EU has already warned member states that they face being left behind if they don’t get to grips with cloud technology.
Franck Cohen, European chairman of software company SAP, told ZDNet: "Unfortunately, everyone has their own view today. The French guys are very much focused on data privacy, the Germans are all about business protection, the UK is more liberal. Like that, it's going to be very difficult to find any consistency in the way [the cloud] is going to be operated.”
He said it was essential that Europe-wide regulations are introduced so that all member nations are singing from the same hymn sheet. Currently, there are no rules to cover all member nations, and each country uses its own platform.
Mr Cohen also pointed to the scandals surrounding NSA and GCHQ allegedly monitoring private correspondence.
He said: "Politically, there has to be a policy on cloud services in Europe that will guarantee a certain level of data privacy and security in terms of access from third-party countries or whatever that will survey your systems without your approval.”
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
