Data Backup Digest

The cloud has long been touted as the next big thing in computing. Over the past year, we've seen tech companies from Apple to BitTorrent redouble their efforts to offer more opportunities for users to utilize the cloud for personal and business use. However, a recent study commissioned by Microsoft Canada found that less than five percent of the 476 Canadian executives polled fully understood what the technology was.

However, it's not just Canada's private sector that has demonstrated a lack of education with regards to the cloud. Just last month, the Treasury Board of Canada asked industry experts for input on their policies regarding cloud computing — but officials have already made it clear that they feel it's imperative to store any cloud-based data on servers that are located within the country. Concerns of espionage were cited as the reasoning behind this decision, but the success or failure of such an attempt would have little to do with the geographical position of the servers.

The picture seems quite clear; Canada are behind the curve with regards to the cloud, and their attempts to remedy the matter are at risk of being scuppered by a lack of baseline information. Between the increasing prevalence of cloud storage and the capacity for growth in cloud computing, this sort of technology is only going to become ever more important over the next decade. This issue will soon be too big for Canada to ignore, so it's important that the country takes steps to address it, before it's too late.

Keeping Canada's cloud interests within the country isn't a bad idea in and of itself, it's just been pitched for the wrong reasons. While keeping this sort of technology local may be legally beneficial, allowing companies to be protected solely by their government’s data protection acts, there's no real security benefit to be had. However, there's a massive advantage to be had from encouraging this industry. Canadian services like Cloud-A and Auro demonstrate that there are plenty of talented professionals in the field living and working in the country. Rather than shy away from multinational cloud storage companies as a result of some specious reasoning, Canada needs to use that talent to establish itself as a leader in this sort of technology.

There's also plenty to be said for looking to Europe for some insight in how to move forward. Many European nations find themselves in a similar position to Canada; aware of the importance of the cloud but reticent to farm out their data to another country. The United Kingdom operates a program known as the G-Cloud , a framework that helps public sector organizations find the cloud services they need easily and securely.

All this being said, G-Cloud was established three years ago and work is still being done to iron out the kinks. Canada will need to act fast to ensure that they can keep pace with the rest of the world. With a deadline for the government to establish its cloud computing usage policy set for this summer, the time for action is quickly running out.