The Need for a National Cloud Interest Group in Canada

It's been a while coming. Many people with whom I have spoken have been saying that there is little in the way of direction in Canada with respect to cloud computing. Such an organization would help to shape Canada's nascent cloud market and would help the Government of Canada develop its national strategy for cloud computing including how legislation would fit into the picture.

Over the past few years, several events that are focused on cloud computing or that have dedicated tracks related to cloud computing have cropped up in the US (see Cloud Connect, Interop, etc.). However, there have been few, if any, national non-partisan conferences aimed at helping Canadian organizations make decisions about cloud computing, whether these organizations are consumers or service providers, for profit or not for profit, government, of private sector.

It is pretty well known that Canada lags behind the United States in terms of IT innovation and adoption rates and cloud computing innovation and adoption is no different. At this point, it is fair to say that we are anywhere between 1-3 years behind. Suffice it to say, Canada needs to catch up. And, as long as there is no unifying organization that can provide some direction and cohesion in the market, it will remain behind with a fractured market and consumers who are confused as to offerings in the market place. Shaping the market and guiding users should be an overarching goal for any national organization.

Another way a national cloud interest group would help advance cloud computing in Canada is by advocating it with the Canadian Government, both from its position as a potential user and its position as legislator and regulator. Relatively speaking, we are still in the early days of cloud computing, but it is not the wild west. Governments are trying to make sense of this new business model. What are the impacts on privacy? What is the impact on e-commerce? What is the impact on the economy? What about jobs? For example, Microsoft recently commissioned a study that examined the question of jobs: the implication is that cloud computing will create 70,000 jobs in Canada by 2015. A national interest group would be in a position to accumulate relevant information and prepare briefs for government officials who are responsible for the day-to-day management of the country and its laws and regulations.

Lastly, it is of paramount importance that any emergent national cloud interest group remains impartial with respect to service providers and not promote one's services over another's; transparency will be key in maintaining impartiality so as to avoid any perception of conflict of interest. This impartiality will be important to maintain the thought leadership that it will inevitably generate through its activities and exposure to the cloud community in Canada and the United States.