What's restricting cloud innovations in India?

BANGALORE, INDIA: Compared to its ranking of 18th in 2016, India's ranking now has slid down to 20th out of 24 leading IT economies, according to BSA's 2018 Global Cloud Computing Scorecard. The legal and regulatory environment for cloud computing in India is perhaps restricting cloud innovation in India, suggests the study.

Germany scored the highest on the Scorecard – due to its national cybersecurity policies and promotion of free trade – followed closely by Japan and the United States. Bringing up the rear are a small group of nations that have failed to embrace the international approach: Russia, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

“The Scorecard is a tool that can help countries constructively self-evaluate their policies and determine next steps to increase adoption of cloud computing,” said Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance. “Cloud computing allows anyone to access technology previously available only to large organizations, paving the way for increased connectivity and innovation. Countries that embrace the free flow of data, implement cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions, protect intellectual property, and establish IT infrastructure will continue to reap the benefits of cloud computing for businesses and citizens alike.”

India fell two places because of its poor results in the Data Privacy and IT Readiness and Broadband Deployment, says the study.

The study highlights several other factors also, which might have affected India's ranking:

-Laws and regulations in India have not entirely kept pace with developments in cloud computing, and some gaps exist in key areas of protection; notably, India has not yet implemented effective privacy legislation, although work is underway to address this issue, say the study.

-India has a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy in place and strong cybercrime legislation. Some laws and standards in India are not technology neutral (e.g., electronic signatures), and these may be a barrier to interoperability.

-This year’s report notes that India imposes some local security testing requirements in addition to international testing requirements. These local testing arrangements have been the subject of criticism by India’s trading partners, including the European Union.

-There is a gap in trade secrets protection in India. In addition, guidance for examiners on how to evaluate patent applications for software-enabled inventions is lacking, although the revocation of guidelines that would have prevented most computer related inventions from being subject to patent protection if novel hardware was not present is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, India still has not ratified the WIPO Copyright Treaty.