Japan leads Asia in building cloud economy

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Japan has once again topped the rankings in the Cloud Readiness Index (CRI), an annual study of Asia-Pacific economies’ preparedness for cloud computing by the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA).

In this the second Index, Japan ranked ahead of South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, scoring highest in the categories of International Connectivity and Business Sophistication, and equal highest in Data Privacy and Freedom of Information Access.

Taiwan finished fifth, just behind Singapore, mainland China ranked 10th, Australia finished in the middle of the table and Thailand and Vietnam tied at the bottom.

The Index tracks the development of the required underlying infrastructure, data regulations, and the business and government environment for cloud computing across leading Asian economies.

In a few short years, cloud computing has become an important part of the knowledge economy and is certain to become one of the biggest drivers of economic growth over the next decade.

Research firm Gartner has predicted public cloud services to be worth $109 billion this year, while IDC estimates that by 2015 the cloud will create 14 million jobs worldwide and $1.1 trillion a year in new business revenues. The EU expects the cloud to add as much as 160 billion euros ($206 billion) to annual GDP between now and 2020, which represents more than 2% of GDP growth.

Cloud services have become enabled by the widespread deployment of fixed and mobile broadband networks and the mass availability of smartphones and tablets. Using the cloud, businesses, governments and other organizations can deliver content, databases and applications in a more cost-effective and flexible way.

“There is wide recognition among Asian governments and business leaders about the importance of the cloud in driving innovation, cutting costs and boosting productivity,” said Bernie Trudel, Chairman of the ACCA.

“This Index aims at marking the progress of the region’s economies towards reaching their cloud objectives. As well as providing an annual report card, we have also identified potential bottlenecks that are slowing take-up and limiting the ability of Asian businesses and consumers to enjoy the benefits of the cloud economy.”

Trudel said issues such as reliability of access, security, government access, privacy and intellectual property protection had emerged as constraints on the adoption of cloud services.

Cloud providers and customers have also expressed concerns about data portability, vendor lock-in and interoperability, he added.

ACCA CEO Per Dahlberg said the Index could become an important tool for governments.

“The Index can measure their own progress and also their ability to attract foreign investment in cloud services and platforms,” he said.

The Index examines 14 countries and markets using 10 different measures, covering regulatory issues such as data protection, infrastructure areas such as broadband and the broader business and government environment.