Study ranks countries’ cloud policies. Thailand makes progress; Australia and Singapore lose ground; China, India, and Korea fall behind

SINGAPORE — April 26, 2016 — National governments continue to make significant strides in improving the legal and regulatory environment for cloud computing around the globe and in the region, but important exceptions exist in several countries that threaten to impede economic growth in those markets, according to a far-reaching study by BSA | The Software Alliance.

The 2016 BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard ranks the cloud computing readiness of 24 countries that account for 80 percent of the world’s IT markets. Ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region were evaluated – Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Each country is graded on its strengths and weaknesses in seven key policy areas.

Cloud computing allows anyone — a start-up, an individual consumer, a government or a small business — to quickly and efficiently access technology in a cost-effective way. These services in return open the door to unprecedented connectivity, productivity and competitiveness.

This year’s results reveal that many countries in the APAC region have made healthy improvements in their policy environments since the release of BSA’s previous Scorecard in 2013. But the stratification between high-, middle- and lower-achieving country groups has widened, with the middle-ranking countries stagnating even as the high achievers continue to refine their policy environments.

“The Scorecard shows that most APAC countries are eager to welcome cloud computing and its myriad economic benefits, and even those with low ranks have generally improved their scores since 2013. Many of them are working hard to create a more favorable regulatory and legal environment for cloud computing,” said Jared Ragland, Senior Director, Policy – APAC with BSA | The Software Alliance. “Unfortunately, the Scorecard also shows some countries in the region are instead erecting new forms of digital trade protectionism. The report is a wakeup call for all governments to work together to ensure the benefits of the cloud around the globe.”

In terms of overall ranking, the biggest improvers were South Africa (moving up six places) and Canada (moving up five places).

The top five countries in the rankings are: Japan, the United States, Germany, Canada and France, with Australia and Singapore placing in the top ten.

Notably, Thailand, Brazil and Vietnam, despite trailing in the rankings, continue to make significant and consistent gains and are closing their gap with mid-tier countries. The world’s major IT markets remained stable with modest gains.

Negative trends emerged as well. China and Russia, in particular, have imposed new policies that will hinder cloud computing by limiting the ability of cloud computing service providers to adequately move data across borders. And too few countries are effectively promoting free trade or working to truly harmonize cloud computing policies.

The full, 24-country rankings and detailed findings are available atwww.bsa.org/cloudscorecard.

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