BSA expects policy actions from new govt. to promote cloud usage

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Software Alliance, BSA welcomes the newly elected government and looks forward to continuing the momentum to foster an industry environment that is open, safe and promotes free-trade for software companies in India.

Yolynd Lobo - director, BSA India, said: "Particularly, we hope to see significant advancement in the regulatory and policy framework of India to promote cloud computing, which represents a tremendous evolutionary leap in information technology. We believe that to take advantage of the inherent benefits that cloud computing offers along with its efficiencies of scale, there must be legal and regulatory cohesion in the international marketplace, so that companies can provide services across borders and customers can choose from the best solutions the world has to offer."

"This is particularly true for India, which is uniquely positioned to capitalize on its skilled IT workforce assets and the presence of some of the world's largest, and most competitive, systems integration firms. India should look beyond the mere consumption of cloud services to improve e-governance delivery and access to creating a future-focused policy framework that will help it derive long-term developmental impact and economic benefits from the cloud," said she.

BSA also feels that there is an urgent need for specific policy actions by the new government to achieve the same:

Enabling cross-border data transfers: India should strive to forge bilateral or multilateral agreements that permit the movement of data across borders. India should also urge trading partners to reject arbitrary geographic restrictions and requirements for data-storage facilities.

Preventing Regulatory Obstacles: India should refrain from adopting discriminatory licensing requirements and certification schemes for cloud providers.

Protecting Intellectual Property: India should ensure that intellectual property laws provide for clear protection and vigorous enforcement against misappropriation and infringement of the technological developments that underlie the cloud.

BSA is the global advocate, representing the interests of software publishers around the world (including Adobe, Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, IBM, Intel and Microsoft, etc.). BSA works with various governments around the world with the objective to promote policies that foster technology innovation, drive IT compliance and help protect innovations and IP rights of member companies through various legal measures.