European Commission launches cloud review

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The European Commission has launched a review to determine the best way to "exploit cloud computing" across the collected nations.

It is seeking out views from citizens and businesses across Europe, as well as national governments, to find out the best ways to utilise the technology trend.

To gather ideas, the European Commission has launched an online survey, asking questions around adoption levels, legislative frameworks and future innovation.

Neelie Kroes, vice president for the digital agenda within the European Commission, said: "I am excited about the potential benefits of cloud computing to cut costs, improve services and open up new business opportunities."

"We need a well-defined cloud computing strategy to ensure that we make the best use of this potential. The input we are requesting from all interested parties is important to get it right."

The public consultation will be open for feedback until the end of August when the European Commission plans to collate the information for inclusion in a European cloud computing strategy, set to be published in 2012.

The announcement was made in the same week IBM claimed cloud computing was "poised to take off" in the enterprise market.

A survey from Big Blue, released today, showed 60 per cent of chief information officers (CIOs) wanted to use cloud computing over the next five years in order to gain a competitive advantage.

A separate report released by Ovum today commissioned by Cable & Wireless showed the use of cloud computing had rocketed within multinational companies, up 61 per cent when compared to April last year.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.