Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

*|*

# 52012DC0529

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe /\* COM/2012/0529 final \*/**

  

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Unleashing the Potential of Cloud
Computing in Europe

(Text with EEA relevance)

1.           Introduction

‘Cloud computing’ in simplified terms can be
understood as the storing, processing and use of data on remotely located
computers accessed over the internet. This means that users can command almost
unlimited computing power on demand, that they do not have to make major
capital investments to fulfil their needs and that they can get to their data
from anywhere with an internet connection. Cloud computing has the potential to
slash users' IT expenditure and to enable many new services to be developed.
Using the cloud, even the smallest firms can reach out to ever larger markets
while governments can make their services more attractive and efficient even
while reining in spending.

Where the World Wide Web makes information available
everywhere and to anyone, cloud computing makes computing power available everywhere
and to anyone. Like the web, cloud computing is a technological development
that has been ongoing for some time and will continue to develop. Unlike the
web, cloud computing is still at a comparatively early stage, giving Europe a
chance to act to ensure being at the forefront of its further development and
to benefit on both demand and supply side through wide-spread cloud use and
cloud provision.

The Commission therefore aims at
enabling and facilitating faster adoption of cloud computing throughout all
sectors of the economy which can
cut ICT costs, and when combined with new digital business practices[1], can boost productivity, growth and jobs. On the basis of an
analysis of the overall policy, regulatory and technology landscapes and a wide
consultation of stakeholders, undertaken to identify what needs to be done to
achieve that goal, this document sets out the most important and urgent
additional actions. It delivers one of the main actions foreseen in the
Communication on e-Commerce and online services;[2] it represents a political commitment of
the Commission and serves as a call on all stakeholders to participate in the
implementation of these actions, which could mean an
additional EUR 45 billion of direct spend on Cloud Computing in the EU in 2020
as well as an overall cumulative impact on GDP of EUR 957 billion, and 3.8
million jobs, by 2020.[3]

Several of the identified actions are designed
to address the perception, by many potential adopters of cloud computing, that the
use of this technology may bring additional risks.[4] The actions do so
by aiming at more clarity and knowledge about the applicable legal framework,
by making it easier to signal and verify compliance with the legal framework
(e.g. through standards and certification) and by developing it further (e.g.
through a forthcoming legislative initiative on cyber security).

Addressing the
specific challenges of cloud computing would mean a faster and more
harmonised adoption
of the technology by Europe's businesses, organisations and public authorities,
resulting, on the demand side, in accelerated productivity growth and increased
competitiveness across the whole economy as well as, on the supply-side, in a larger market in which Europe becomes a key global player. Here, the
European ICT sector stands to benefit from important new opportunities; given
the right context, Europe's traditional strengths in telecommunications
equipment, networks and services could be deployed very effectively for cloud
infrastructures. Beyond that, European application developers large and small
could benefit from rising demand.

2.           Nature and
benefits of cloud computing

Cloud computing has a range of defining features (which make a general definition elusive[5]), namely:

·
hardware (computers, storage devices) is owned by the cloud
computing provider, not by the user who interacts with it via the internet;

·
the use of hardware is dynamically optimised across a network of
computers, so that the exact location of data or processes, as well as the information which piece of hardware is
actually serving a particular user at a given moment, does not in principle
have to concern the user, even
though it may have an important bearing on the applicable legal environment;

·
cloud providers often move their users' workloads around (e.g.
from one computer to another or from one data centre to another) to optimise
the use of available hardware;

·
the remote hardware stores and
processes data and makes it available, e.g. through applications (so that a
company could use its cloud-based computing in just the same way as consumers
already today use their webmail accounts);

·
organisations and
individuals can access their content, and use
their software when and where they need it, e.g. on desktop computers, laptops,
tablets and smartphones;

·
a cloud set-up consists of layers:
hardware, middleware or platform, and application software. Standardisation is
important especially at the middle layer because it enables developers to
address a wide range of potential customers and gives users choice;

·
users normally pay by usage, avoiding
the large upfront and fixed costs necessary to set up and operate sophisticated
computing equipment;

·
at the same time, users can very easily
modify the amount of hardware they use (e.g. bring new storage capacity online
in a matter of seconds with a few mouse clicks).

Consumers can use cloud services to store information (e.g.
pictures or e-mail) and to use software (e.g. social networks, streamed video
and music, and games). Organisations, including public administrations, can use
cloud services to successively replace internally run data centres and
information and communication technology (ICT) departments. Companies can use
cloud services to quickly test and scale up what they offer to their customers
because they can do so without investing in and building physical
infrastructures. Overall, cloud computing
represents a further industrialisation (standardisation, scaling-up,
wide-spread availability) of the provision of computing power ("utility
computing") in the same way as power plants industrialised the provision
of electrical power. Thanks to standardised interfaces (the equivalent to
electrical power plugs) users can leave the details (how to build, power, run and
secure a data centre) to experts who achieve much better economies of scale (by
serving many users) than individual users ever could. Moreover, cloud services offer
very large economies of scale meaning that go-it-alone efforts at national
level are unlikely to deliver optimal cost efficiencies. The benefits of adopting cloud computing can be illustrated
by a 2011 survey for the Commission which shows that as a result of the
adoption of cloud computing 80% of organisations reduce costs by 10-20%. Other
benefits include enhanced mobile working (46%), productivity (41%),
standardisation (35%), as well as new business opportunities (33%) and markets
(32%).[6] All available economic studies also confirm the importance
of cloud computing which is expected to grow rapidly worldwide.[7]

The unprecedented increase of data flow and
processing of information over the Internet has a significant environmental
impact through energy and water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Cloud computing can help mitigate these problems thanks to more efficient use
of hardware as well as, more specifically, by building data centres to use
low-energy servers and green energy.[8]
For example, according to some estimates, large companies in the US could save
$12.3 billion annually in energy consumption by adopting cloud computing.[9]

Therefore, substantial
efficiency improvements across the whole economy can be expected from cloud
adoption by businesses and other organisations, especially SMEs. The cloud
could be especially important for small businesses in struggling economies or
remote and rural regions to tap into markets in more buoyant regions. For
example using broadband infrastructures to overcome the "tyranny of
distance", the whole range from high tech start-ups to small traders or
artisans can leverage the cloud to tap into remote markets. This opens up new
economic development opportunities to any region that has ideas, talent and a
high speed broadband infrastructure. Also, the cloud
could bring jobs to ICT-savvy workers rather than uprooting them in pursuit of
work, thus bringing jobs and cash to less favoured regions. Many apparently local products and services
could get global reach, increase web presence (and discoverability through
Internet search engines) and – particularly where small firms group together –
achieve the critical mass needed to negotiate preferential terms with key
business partners (e.g. delivery/transport, tourism operators and finance
companies). Public authorities also stand to gain substantially from cloud
adoption both in terms of efficiency savings and in terms of services that are
more flexible and tuned to the needs of citizens and business. The most
immediate saving would be in terms of lower IT costs by reducing capital and
operating expenditure and increasing hardware utilization rates which today can
be as low as 10% on public sector infrastructures.[10] Further benefits
would come from process re-engineering through lower cost and more frequent
upgrade possibilities and the scope to share infrastructures between agencies.

Beyond pure costs savings, cloud computing can help drive
the transition to 21st century public services that are interoperable, scalable
and in line with the needs of a mobile population and businesses that want to
benefit from the European digital single market. The first incremental steps
would be improved service performance such as improved
security, more user-friendly
services, the ability to roll out new services cheaply, fast and flexibly, the
relative ease of using cloud computing for creating social engagement platforms
or for specific campaigns and the scope to monitor outcomes better. But looking
forward ten years cloud could help realise the vision of "Every European
Digital", able to enjoy full electronic public services rather than a
paper bureaucracy. Cloud computing could help to drive public costs down and
push public benefits up and give a broader base for economic activity involving
the whole population.

3.           Steps to be
taken

The preparatory work
undertaken by the Commission shows the key areas where actions are needed:

•           Fragmentation
of the digital single market due to differing national legal frameworks and
uncertainties over applicable law, digital content and data location ranked
highest amongst the concerns of potential cloud computing adopters and
providers. This is in particular related to the complexities of managing
services and usage patterns that span multiple jurisdictions and in relation to
trust and security in fields such as data protection, contracts and consumer
protection or criminal law.

•           Problems
with contracts were related to worries over data access and portability,
change control and ownership of the data. For example there are concerns over
how liability for service failures such as downtime or loss of data will be
compensated, user rights in relation to system upgrades decided unilaterally by
the provider, ownership of data created in cloud applications or how disputes
will be resolved.

•           A jungle
of standards generates confusion by, on one hand, a proliferation of
standards and on the other hand a lack of certainty as to which standards
provide adequate levels of interoperability of data formats to permit
portability; the extent to which safeguards are in place for the protection of
personal data; or the problem of the data breaches and the protection against
cyberattacks.

This strategy does not
foresee the building of a "European Super-Cloud", i.e. a dedicated
hardware infrastructure to provide generic cloud computing services to public sector
users across Europe. However, one of the aims is
to have publicly available cloud offerings ("public cloud"[11]) that meet European standards
not only in regulatory terms but in terms of being competitive, open and secure. This does not preclude public authorities
from setting up dedicated private clouds for the treatment of sensitive data,
but in general even cloud services used by the public sector
should – as far as feasible – be subject to competition on the market to ensure
best value for money, while conforming to regulatory obligations or wider
public-policy objectives in respect of key operating criteria such as security
and protection of sensitive data.

3.1.        Cloud Computing and the
Digital Agenda (Digital Single Market)

Because of its inherent freedom from
locational constraints, cloud computing could raise the digital single market
to a new level. But this will only be the case if we achieve effective
implementation of single market rules. The gains are potentially huge. The
preparatory study undertaken for the Commission estimates that the public cloud
would generate €250 billion in GDP in 2020 with cloud-friendly policies in
place against €88 billion in the "no intervention" scenario, leading
to extra cumulative impacts from 2015 to 2020 of €600 billion. This translates
into the creation of 2.5 million extra jobs.[12]

Many of the necessary
steps to make Europe cloud-friendly were already identified as actions of the
Single Market Pillar of the Digital Agenda for Europe and the Single Market Act[13]. Most of these
actions are now on the table of the legislators and a quick move to adopt and
implement these proposals will make a major contribution towards realising the
economic gains of cloud computing.

Digital Agenda
Actions "opening-up access to content"

In the Digital Agenda
for Europe, the Commission set itself the objective to "simplify copyright
clearance, management and cross-border licensing."[14] The key actions
identified in the Digital Agenda to reach these goals are on track and will
enhance Europe's capacity to exploit the exciting new opportunities of cloud
computing for both producers and consumers of digital content.

For the cloud to work
well as a platform for digital content services, including mobile services,
there is a need for content distribution models that enhance access to and use
of all sorts of content (music, audiovisual or books) across different devices
and in different territories. Cloud service providers and right holders may
agree commercial terms for licences allowing customers to access their personal
account from multiple devices, irrespective of the territory from which the
account is accessed. Such flexible licensing agreements are already being
reached in the market, although agreement is proving more difficult in some cases.
Providers need easy ways to acquire licences for such services. Consumers
should be able, lawfully, to consume content away from home across the EU
without losing access to services they paid for in any other Member State. For
rights holders such licensing arrangements would promote service innovation and
thus create new revenue streams. A rapid adoption of the Commission proposal
for a Directive on Collective Rights Management will address many of the
cross-border licensing needs for cloud content as regards music. The Commission
is also considering further actions as a follow-up to the Audiovisual Green
Paper[15],
for example by promoting and facilitating the licensing of audiovisual works
for online distribution, in particular across borders. A cloud computing
service may also permit content storage in the cloud. The consumer can use the
cloud as a digital locker for content and a synchronisation tool to access
content from different devices. Therefore questions arise on the possible
collection of private copy levies for any private copying of content to, from
or within the cloud.

These questions, among
others, are being examined in an on-going mediation process led by Mr. Antonio
Vitorino.[16]
On the basis of the outcome of this process the Commission will inter alia
assess whether there is a need to clarify the scope of the private copying
exception and the applicability of levies, in particular the extent to which
cloud computing services allowing for the direct remuneration of right holders
are excluded from the private copy levy regime.

Digital Agenda
Actions to "Make Online and Cross-Border Transactions
Straightforward"

The recent review of
the e-commerce directive undertaken as an action in the Digital Agenda
reaffirmed its role as an essential foundation of digital services growth in
Europe through the exemption from liability of information society service
providers when they host or transmit illegal information that has been provided
by a third party. Many such online services are now migrating onto cloud
infrastructures which facilitates the offer of more integrated services. This
gives rise to more complex value chains frequently spanning multiple
jurisdictions which in turn raises questions related to the determination of
the applicable law (e.g. establishment) and the application of the notification
procedures concerning (alleged) illegal information and activities to these
emerging services. These issues are being addressed in the follow-up to the
Communication on the Digital Single Market for e-commerce and online services,
in the Commission's initiative on notice and action procedures.[17]

Secure eAuthentication
methods for internet transactions are also essential for the development of the
digital single market. The more complex value chains and the nested nature of
many services in cloud computing makes reliable authentication necessary both
to secure trust and to streamline the use of the services. For example single
sign-on procedures makes the use of a set of services much smoother but require
more sophisticated and reliable authentication methods than simple self-created
passwords to enhance trust in the set of providers concerned. The adoption of
common standards that permit safe but seamless use of services requiring
reliable authentication and authorisation would be a major boon to cloud
adoption. The provision of such solutions will be greatly enhanced by the
adoption of the Commission's proposals on e-identification and authentication.[18]

The Commission will in
the coming months address general cyber security challenges in its Strategy for
Cyber Security. The strategy will address all information society providers
including cloud computing service providers. It will inter alia indicate
appropriate technical and organisational measures that should be taken to
manage security risks as well reporting obligations to competent authorities of
significant incidents.

Digital Agenda
Actions on Building Digital Confidence

Data protection emerged
from the consultation and the studies launched by the Commission as a key area
of concern that could impede the adoption of cloud computing. In particular,
faced with 27 partly diverging national legislative frameworks, it is very hard
to provide a cost-effective cloud solution at the level of digital single
market. In addition, given the cloud’s global scope, there was a call for
clarity on how international data transfers would be regulated. These concerns
have been addressed, in completion of another Digital Agenda Action, by the proposal of a strong and uniform legal framework providing legal
certainty on data protection by the Commission on 25 January 2012. The proposed
regulation addresses the issues raised by the cloud. Centrally, it clarifies
the important question of applicable law, by ensuring that a single set of
rules would apply directly and uniformly across all 27 Member States. It will
be good for business and citizens by bringing about a level playing field and
reduced administrative burden and compliance costs throughout Europe for
businesses, while ensuring a high level of protection for individuals and
giving them more control over their data. Increased transparency of data
processing will also help increase consumer trust. The proposal facilitates
transfers of personal data to countries outside the EU and EEA while ensuring
the continuity of protection of the concerned individuals. The new legal
framework will provide for the necessary conditions for the adoption of codes
of conduct and standards for the cloud, where stakeholders see a need for certification
schemes that verify that the provider has implemented the appropriate IT
security standards and safeguards for data transfers.

Given that data protection concerns were
identified as one of the most serious barriers to cloud computing take-up, it is
all the more important that Council and Parliament work swiftly towards the
adoption of the proposed regulation as soon as possible in 2013.

Meanwhile, as cloud computing involves chains
of providers and other actors such as infrastructure or communications
providers, guidance is required on how to apply the existing EU Data Protection
Directive, notably to identify and distinguish the data protection rights and
obligations of data controllers and processors for cloud service providers, or
actors in the cloud computing value chain. Moreover, due to the specific nature
of the cloud, questions have been raised about applicable law in case where the
relevant place of establishment of a cloud provider may be hard to determine,
e.g. for a non-EU user of a non-EU provider operating equipment in the EU. In
this context, the Commission welcomes the guidance on how to apply the existing
EU Data Protection Directive given in the Opinion of the data protection
working party, the so called "Article 29 Working Party" on cloud
computing of 1 July 2012.[19]
The Commission considers that the Article 29 Working Party Opinion provides a
good basis for the transition from the current EU Data Protection Directive to
the new EU Data Protection Regulation and that it should guide the work of
national authorities and of businesses, thereby offering maximum clarity and
legal certainty on the basis of the existing legal framework.

Moreover, once the proposed regulation is
adopted, the Commission will make use of the new mechanisms set out therein to
provide, in close cooperation with national data protection authorities, any
necessary additional guidance on the application of European data protection
law in respect of cloud services.

Contract law was also an area of concern for
negatively affecting the digital confidence of consumers who did not have
certainty about their rights and lacked protection and traders who needed a
framework which would make it easier for them to offer their products online.
In this context, the Commission has already proposed a Regulation for a Common
European Sales Law.[20]

3.2.        Specific Key Actions on
Cloud Computing

Completing the Digital
Single Market by moving as rapidly as possible to adoption and implementation
of the Digital Agenda proposals that are on the table is the essential first
step towards making Europe cloud-friendly. But to move up a notch to become cloud-active, a climate of certainty and
trust must be further developed so as to stimulate the active adoption of cloud
computing in Europe.

There is a need for a
chain of confidence-building steps to create trust in cloud solutions. This
chain starts with the identification of an appropriate set of standards that
can be certified in order to allow public and private procurers to be confident
that they have met their compliance obligations and that they are getting an
appropriate solution to meet their needs when adopting cloud services. These
standards and certificates in turn can be referenced in terms and conditions so
that providers and users feel confident that the contract is fair. The
preparatory work mentioned above indicates the need for specific frameworks for
Cloud Computing in relation to both standards and certification and contract
terms and conditions.

Public authorities have
a role to play in forging a trusted cloud environment in Europe. They have an
opportunity to use their procurement weight to promote the development and
uptake of cloud computing in Europe based on open technologies and secure
platforms. Establishing a clear and protective framework for public sector
adoption will ensure that this technology provides trusted access for
international users and make Europe a hot spot of cloud service innovation. In
addition, take-up amongst public procurers of trusted cloud solutions could
encourage SMEs to adopt as well.

There are also concerns
that the economic impact of cloud computing will not reach its full potential
unless the technology is adopted by both public authorities and small to medium
sized enterprises (SMEs). In both cases adoption so far is marginal due to the
difficulty of assessing the risks of cloud adoption.

To deliver on these
goals therefore the European Commission will launch three cloud-specific
actions:

(1)
Key Action 1: Cutting through the Jungle of
Standards

(2)
Key Action 2: Safe and Fair Contract Terms and
Conditions

(3)
Key Action 3: Establishing a European Cloud
Partnership to drive innovation and growth from the public sector.

3.3.        Key Action 1 – Cutting
through the Jungle of Standards

A wider use of standards, the certification
of cloud services to show they meet these standards and the endorsement of such
certificates by regulatory authorities as indicating compliance with legal
obligations will help cloud take-off.

Currently, individual vendors have an
incentive to fight for dominance by locking in their customers, inhibiting
standardised, industry-wide approaches. Despite numerous standardisation
efforts, mostly led by suppliers, clouds may develop in a way that lacks
interoperability, data portability and reversibility, all crucial for the
avoidance of lock-in.

Standards in the cloud will also affect
stakeholders beyond the ICT industry, in particular SMEs, public sector users
and consumers. Such users are rarely able to evaluate suppliers' claims as to
their implementation of standards, the interoperability of their clouds or the
ease with which data can be moved from one provider to another. For this,
independent, trusted certification is needed.

Standardisation and certification actions
for cloud computing are already taking place. The U.S. National Institute for
Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a series of documents including a
widely accepted set of definitions. The European Telecommunications Standards
Institute (ETSI) has set up a Cloud Group to consider cloud standardisation
needs and conformity with interoperability standards. Additional standards
setting initiatives will clearly be needed. However, the priority now is to
deploy existing standards to develop confidence in cloud computing via comparable
service stacks as well as interoperable and diverse offerings. In addition to
identifying the concerned standards compliance certification is needed.

Many, and certainly all larger
organisations, require certification of their IT systems' compliance with legal
and audit requirements and that applications and systems are interoperable. The
Commission will:

·
Promote trusted and reliable cloud offerings by
tasking ETSI to coordinate with stakeholders in a transparent and open way to
identify by 2013 a detailed map of the necessary standards (inter alia for
security, interoperability, data portability and reversibility).

·
 Enhance trust in cloud computing services by
recognising at EU-level technical specifications in the field of information
and communication technologies for the protection of personal information in
accordance with the new Regulation on European Standardisation[21].

·
Work with the support of ENISA and other
relevant bodies to assist the development of EU-wide voluntary certification
schemes in the area of cloud computing (including as regards data protection)
and establish a list of such schemes by 2014.

·
Address the environmental challenges of
increased cloud use by agreeing, with industry, harmonised metrics for the
energy consumption, water consumption and carbon emissions of cloud services by
2014.[22]

3.4.        Key Action 2: Safe and
Fair Contract Terms and Conditions

Traditional IT outsourcing arrangements
were typically negotiated and related to data storage, processing facilities
and services defined and described in detail and up-front. Cloud computing
contracts, on the other hand, essentially create a framework in which the user
has access to infinitely scalable and flexible IT capabilities according to his
needs. However, currently the greater flexibility of cloud computing as
compared to traditional outsourcing is often counterbalanced by reduced
certainty for the customer due to insufficiently specific and balanced
contracts with cloud providers.

The complexity and uncertainty of the legal framework for
cloud services providers means that they often use complex contracts or service
level agreements[23] with
extensive disclaimers. The use of "take-it-or-leave-it"
standard contracts might be cost-saving for the provider but is often undesirable
for the user, including the final consumer. Such contracts may also impose the choice of applicable
law or inhibit data recovery. Even larger companies have little negotiation
power and contracts often do not provide for liability for data integrity, confidentiality
or service continuity.[24]

As regards professional users, the development
of the model terms for cloud computing of the service
level agreements for professional users were one of the
most important issues that arose during the consultation process. The service level agreements determine the
relationship between the cloud provider and professional users, and thus
essentially provide the basis of trust cloud users can have in a cloud
provider's ability to deliver services.

Concerning consumers and small firms, the Commission's proposal, as an action aiming at building digital confidence under the Digital Agenda, for a Regulation on a Common European
Sales Law[25],
addresses many of the obstacles stemming from diverging national sales law
rules by providing contractual parties with a uniform set of rules. The proposal includes rules adapted to the
supply of "digital content" that cover some aspects of cloud
computing.[26]

Specific complementary
work for those issues that lie beyond the Common
European Sales Law is needed to make sure that other
contractual questions relevant for cloud computing services can be covered as
well, by a similar optional instrument approach. This complementary work
should cover such issues as data preservation after termination of the
contract, data disclosure and integrity, data location and transfer, direct and
indirect liability, ownership of the data, change of service by cloud providers
and subcontracting.

Although existing EU legislation protects
users of cloud services, consumers are often unaware of their relevant rights especially
including the applicable law and jurisdiction in civil and commercial
matters, notably when it comes to contract law questions.[27] Development of model contract terms was
identified in the consultation[28]
as desirable to overcome these problems. Industrial users and suppliers have
called for self-regulatory agreements or standardisation. For
contracts with consumers and small firms European model contract terms and conditions based on an
optional contract law instrument may be needed to create transparent and fair
cloud services contracts.

Identifying and disseminating best practices in respect of
model contract terms will accelerate the take up-of cloud computing by
increasing the trust of prospective customers.

Appropriate actions on contract terms can
also help in the crucial area of data protection. As noted above, the proposed
Regulation on personal Data Protection will guarantee a high level of
protection for individuals by ensuring continuity of protection when data is
transferred outside the EU and EEA, namely through standard contractual clauses
governing international data transfers and establishment of the necessary
conditions for the adoption of cloud-friendly binding corporate rules. These changes
will ensure the EU data protection rules cater for the geographical and
technical realities of cloud computing. The Commission will by end 2013:

·
Develop with stakeholders model terms for cloud
computing service level agreements for contracts between cloud providers and
professional cloud users, taking into account the developing EU acquis in this
field.

·
In line with the Communication on a Common
European Sales Law[29],
propose to consumers and small firms European model contract terms and
conditions for those issues that fall within the Common European Sales Law
proposal. The aim is to standardise key contract terms and conditions,
providing best practice contract terms for cloud services on aspects related
with the supply of "digital content".

·
Task an expert group set up for this purpose and
including industry to identify before the end of 2013 safe and fair contract
terms and conditions for consumers and small firms,
and on the basis of a similar optional instrument approach, for those cloud-related issues that lie beyond the
Common European Sales Law .

·
Facilitate Europe's participation in the global
growth of cloud computing by: reviewing standard contractual clauses applicable to transfer of personal data
to third countries and adapting them, as needed, to cloud services; and by
calling upon national data protection authorities to approve Binding Corporate
Rules for cloud providers.[30]

·
Work with industry to agree a code of conduct
for cloud computing providers to support a uniform application of data protection
rules which may be submitted to the Article 29 Working Party for endorsement in
order to ensure legal certainty and coherence between the code of conduct and
EU law.

3.5.        Key
Action 3 – Promoting Common Public Sector Leadership through a European Cloud
Partnership

The public sector has a strong role to play in shaping the
cloud computing market. As the EU's largest buyer of IT services, it can set
stringent requirements for features, performance, security, interoperability
and data portability and compliance with technical requirements. It can also
lay down requirements for certification. Several Member
States have started national initiatives such as Andromede in France, G-Cloud
in the UK and Trusted Cloud in Germany.[31]
But with the public sector market fragmented, its requirements have little
impact, services integration is low and citizens do not get the best value for
money. Pooling public requirements could bring higher efficiency and common
sectoral requirements (e.g. eHealth, social care, assisted living, and
eGovernment services such as open data[32]) would reduce costs and
enable interoperability.

The private sector would also benefit from higher quality
services, more competition, rapid standardisation and better interoperability
and market opportunites for high -tech SMEs.

This year, the Commission
is therefore setting up a European Cloud Partnership (ECP) to provide an
umbrella for comparable initiatives at Member State level. The ECP will bring
together industry expertise and public sector users to work on common
procurement requirements for cloud computing in an open and fully transparent
way. The ECP does not aim at creating a physical cloud
computing infrastructure. Rather, via procurement requirements that will be
promoted by participating Member States and public authorities for use
throughout the EU, its aim is to ensure that the commercial offer in Europe is
adapted to European needs. The ECP will also be instrumental for avoiding
fragmentation and ensuring public cloud usage is interoperable as well as safe, secure and greener and fully in line
with European rules, e.g. in the areas of data protection and security.
The ECP will, under the guidance of a steering board bring together cooperating public authorities working with industry
consortia to implement a
pre-commercial procurement action to:

·
identify public sector cloud requirements; develop specifications
for IT procurement and procure reference implementations to demonstrate
conformance and performance.[33]

·
Advance towards joint procurement of cloud computing services by
public bodies based on the emerging common user requirements.

·
Set up and execute other actions requiring coordination with
stakeholders as described in this document.

4.           Additional Policy steps

The Commission will also
implement a series of flanking actions to support the three key actions. Other initiatives, such as on broadband access, roaming or open data
also contribute to an environment conducive to faster cloud adoption,
particularly for consumers and SMEs.

4.1.        Stimulation
measures

The Commission will investigate how to make
full use of its other available instruments notably through research and
development support under Horizon 2020 on long-term challenges specific to
cloud computing as well as assisting
the migration to cloud-based solutions, e.g. software for switching from legacy
systems to cloud, for managing hybrid services (combining cloud and non-cloud
systems) and to avoid lock-in[34].

The Commission intends to launch
Digital Service Infrastructures under the proposed Connecting Europe Facility[35]in
2014 as ubiquitously available cloud-based public services for, e.g., setting
up businesses online; cross-border procurement and eHealth services; and access
to public sector information. It will also implement its
own cloud plan under the eCommission strategy, including a programme of actions
to move public services implemented under other Community programs into the
cloud.

Finally it will take action (inter
alia studies, mentoring and counselling schemes, raising awareness) to promote
e-skills skills and digital entrepreneurship with regard to cloud computing.

4.2.        International dialogue

With no technical barriers to stop cloud
services at geographical borders, there is a need not only to fully exploit the
opportunities of the Digital Single Market but to look beyond the EU at the
wider international situation for both the legal framework (e.g. on applicable
law) and adoption-supporting measures.

Cloud computing, being born global, calls for a reinforced international dialogue on
safe and seamless cross-border use. For example, the international dialogues on
trade, law enforcement, security and cybercrime all need to fully reflect the
new challenges raised by cloud computing.[36]

More third countries are recognising the
importance of cloud computing. The USA, Japan, Canada, Australia and South East
Asian countries such as Korea, Malaysia and Singapore have or are developing
cloud computing strategies. The main axes are partnerships to drive take-up by
public bodies; promotion of technological developments and standardisation; and
international dialogue and coordination on legal and technical issues.The EU
therefore needs to deepen its structured collaboration with international
partners not just to share experiences and do joint technological development
but also for legal adjustments to promote more efficient and effective cloud
roll-out.[37] These dialogues will be pursued in
multilateral fora such as the WTO and the OECD to advance common objectives for
cloud computing services as well as by integrate
cloud-computing-related issues in its free trade negotiations with India,
Singapore etc.

The Commission will also build on its on-going international dialogues with the USA, India, Japan and other
countries, as regards, inter alia, key themes related to cloud services as
discussed above, such as data protection; access
to data by law enforcement agencies and the use of Mutual Legal Assistance
Agreements to avoid confronting companies with conflicting requests from public
authorities; coordination of data security at the global level; cyber-security, liability of intermediary
service providers; standards and interoperability
requirements, in particular for public services; application of the tax law to
cloud services; and cooperation on research and technology development.

5.           Conclusion

Cloud computing touches a wide range of policy fields. Ongoing
policy initiatives such as the data protection reform and the Common European
Sales law that will lower barriers to
the uptake of cloud computing in the EU should be adopted quickly.

In parallel, the Commission will deliver on
the key actions identified in this Communication in 2013, notably in respect of
the actions on standardisation and certification for cloud computing, the
development of safe and fair contract terms and conditions and the launch of
the European Cloud Partnership.

The Commission will be vigilant on emerging
policy issues which are likely to affect cloud computing's economic and
societal potential in fields such as taxation, public procurement, financial
regulation or law enforcement, where cloud computing's inherent cross-border
nature raises questions regarding compliance and reporting obligations.

The Commission will by the end of 2013 report
on the progress on the full set of actions
in this Strategy and present further
policy and legislative proposals initiatives as needed.

The next two years, during which the
actions outlined above, will be developed and put into place will lay the
foundation for Europe to become a world cloud computing powerhouse. The right
progress during this preparation phase will provide a stable basis for a rapid
take-off phase from 2014-2020 during which use of publicly available cloud
computing offerings could achieve a 38% compound annual growth rate (around
double the rate that would be achieved if the decisive policy steps are not
implemented).

The Commission calls upon Member States to embrace the
potential of cloud computing. Member States should develop public sector cloud
use based on common approaches that raise performance and
trust, while driving down
costs. Active participation in the European Cloud Partnership and deployment of
its results will be crucial.

The Commission also calls upon industry to cooperate closely
on the development and adoption of common standards and interoperability
measures.

[1]               Kretschmer, T. (2012), “Information and Communication
Technologies and Productivity Growth: A Survey of the Literature”, OECD Digital
Economy Papers, No. 195, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k9bh3jllgs7-en

[2]               Communication, "A coherent framework for
building trust in the Digital Single Market for e-Commerce and online
services", COM (2011) 942 final.

[3]               IDC (2012) "Quantitative Estimates of the Demand
for Cloud Computing in Europe and the Likely Barriers to Take-up"; also
see for more details the SWD accompanying this Communication, section 3.1. The
importance of cloud computing for the creation of jobs is also recognised in
"A Set of Key Actions for ICT Employment", annex to the Commission
Communication "Towards a job-rich recovery", COM(2012) 173 final.

[4]               For example, organisations may worry about business
continuity in the case of service disruption whereas individuals may have
concerns about what happens with their personal information. Such worries slow
down the overall speed of adoption of cloud computing.

[5]               Many such definitions are highly abstract: One
well-known definition speaks of "a model for enabling convenient,
on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources …
that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal effort or service
provider interaction" NIST (2009), US National Institute for Standards and
Technology.

[6]               IDC (2012) "Quantitative Estimates of the Demand
for Cloud Computing in Europe and the Likely Barriers to Take-up".

[7]               E.g. one study foresees the cloud
market to grow threefold by 2014. Another study sees 11 million jobs added to
the economy by that time. See the SWD, section 4.1.

[8]               See: Greenpeace (2012) How clean is your cloud?

[9]               See: http://www.broadbandcommission.org/net/broadband/Documents/bbcomm-climate-full-report-embargo.pdf

[10]             HM Government (2011) Government Cloud Strategy, www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

[11]             By contrast, a private cloud is a service or
infrastructure dedicated to a particular client that is not open for use by
others.

[12]             IDC (2012) "Quantitative Estimates of the Demand
for Cloud Computing in Europe and the Likely Barriers to Take-up" estimates
that in the “Policy-driven” scenario cloud-related workers could exceed 3.8
million, against some 1.3 million in the “No Intervention” scenario, i.e. 2.5
million additional jobs could be brought about by the policy.

[13]             Communication Single Market Act
COM(2011) 206 final

[14]             The constituent actions were to propose a Directive on
Collective Rights Management COM(2012) 372 final; a Directive on Orphan Works COM(2011) 289
final; and to review of the Directive on Re-Use of
Public Sector Information, COM(2011) 877
final, all of which have been done.

[15]             Green Paper on the online distribution of audiovisual
works in the European Union: opportunities and challenges towards a digital
single market, COM(2011) 427.

[16]             See Commission Communication "A Single Market for
Intellectual Property Rights" COM(2011) 287 – Action 8 – which launched
this mediation process in order to "explor[e] possible approaches with a
view to harmonising the methodology used to impose levies [....]" and
stated that a "concerted effort on all sides to resolve outstanding issues
should lay the ground for comprehensive legislative action at EU level".
The eCommerce Communication, COM(2011) 942 final, envisages a legislative
initiative on private copying in 2013.

[17]             eCommerce Communication,
COM(2011) 942 final, p. 15.

[18]             Proposal for a Regulation on electronic identification
and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market
COM(2012)238/2.

[19]             See: Article 29 Data Protection
Working Party, WP196 – Opinion 05/2012 on Cloud Computing, adopted July 1st
2012, http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/documentation/opinion-recommendation/index\_en.htm#h2-1.

[20]             COM (2011) 635 final

[21]             Adopted on 11 September 2012 on the basis of the
Commission's proposal, COM (2011) 315, and entering into force on 1 January
2013.

[22]             http://www.ict-footprint.eu

[23]             An SLA specifies the technical conditions of service
delivery, e.g. the extent of guaranteed availability as a percentage.

[24]             See the opinion of the Article 29 Working Party on
cloud computing, http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/documentation/opinion-recommendation/index\_en.htm#h2-1.

[25]             COM(2011) 635 final

[26]             The proposal for a Regulation on a Common European
Sales Law applies to some of the contracts for the supply of digital content,
i.e. “data which are produced and supplied in digital form, whether or not
according to the buyer's specifications, including video, audio, picture or
written digital content, digital games, software and digital content which
makes it possible to personalise existing hardware or software” (digital
content) which can be stored, processed or accessed, and re-used by the user
but excludes “electronic communications services and networks, and associated
facilities and services” as well as ”the creation of new digital content and
the amendment of existing digital content”.

[27]             See: Regulation (EC) No
593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I), OJ L 177,
4.7.2008 and Regulation (EC) No 44/2001
on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and
commercial matters, OJ
L 12, 16.1.2001.

[28]             http://ec.europa.eu/information\_society/activities/cloudcomputing/docs/ccconsultationfinalreport.pdf

[29]             Commission Communication "A European Consumer
Agenda - Boosting confidence and growth", COM (2012) 225 final.

[30]             The relevant opinions of the Article 29 Working Party
(See: WP 195 and WP 153) will serve as a basis for a Commission draft. Binding
Corporate Rules are one means to allow for legal international data transfers:
they govern in an enforceable manner how the different parts of a corporation,
regardless of their international location, deal with personal data.

[31]             http://www.economie.gouv.fr/cloud-computing-investissements-d-avenir; http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/government-cloud-strategy\_0.pdf;http://www.trusted-cloud.de/documents/aktionsprogramm-cloud-computing.pdf

[32]          Communication on "Open data. An engine for innovation,
growth and transparent governance", COM(2011) 882 final.

[33]             This action will be funded from the Seventh Framework
for Research (FP7) in 2013, the relevant call for proposals was published on 9
July 2012.

[34]             See: Cloud Expert Group Report "The Future of
cloud computing. Opportunities for European cloud computing beyond 2010 : http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/cloud-report-final.pdf 
and Cloud Expert Group Report "Advances in Clouds": http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/future-cc-2may-finalreport-experts.pdf

[35]             Proposal for a Regulation
establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, COM(2011) 665

[36]             COM(2011)163 on Critical
Information Infrastructure Protection identifies developing trust in the cloud
as a priority and calls for "strengthen[ing] discussions on the best
governance strategies".

[37]             Such dialogue has started under the
EU-US Information Society Dialogue, the European America Business Council and
the EU-Japan Information Society Dialogue. Cloud may also be considered by the
Transatlantic Economic Council and the EU-US SME Cooperation.

[Top](#document1)