The European Commission has launched a high-level strategy for cloud computing services.  The announcement came in the form of a release “Unleashing the potential of cloud computing in Europe” 

Key actions of the strategy include:

• Cutting through the jungle of technical standards so that cloud users get interoperability, data portability and reversibility; necessary standards should be identified by 2013;
• Support for EU-wide certification schemes for trustworthy cloud providers;
• Development of model ‘safe and fair’ contract terms for cloud computing contracts including Service Level Agreements;
• A European Cloud Partnership with Member States and industry to harness the public sector’s buying power (20% of all IT spending) to shape the European cloud market, boost the chances for European cloud providers to grow to achieve a competitive scale, and deliver cheaper and better eGovernment.

The opportunity to jump in to cloud services at this point is a reaction to the unleashed potential of cloud services within Europe and an unfulfilled need for standards.  With no existing standards and clear contracts that guide cloud computing , both cloud providers and users are looking for clearer rules when it comes to the delivery of cloud services. For example, regarding the question where legal disputes will be resolved or how to make sure that it will be easy to move data and software between different cloud providers.   Another question is whether the adoption and evolution of cloud services would be impeded or aided by such government intervention.   The EU has a record of regulatory history to fall back on, so this appears to be a significant and substantive move.
Elements of cloud proposals that emerge from this initiative will likely encompass portability, openness, security standards, interoperability, just to name a few.

With a focus on European concerns, which features a vast spread of specialized elements, including a specialized regulatory landscape that varies even within its own member entities, it can be expected that we will see a very Euro-specific cloud standard emerge from this initiative.  We may also see specialized providers emerge to meet these unique European needs.  With a strong sense of European resources at the root of this proposal, the end result could in the emergence of a new major cloud player – built with the foundation and this $206Billion dollar market potential and with the specific focus of meeting European standards.  Current cloud giants may also step in and satisfy with the right approach, but prior language from the European Commission suggests that the crux of the focus will be on European resources.  In the past, European courts have had no shortage of legal actions against some of the largest players in the technology industry.  With this announcement, the future of cloud computing looks to take another interesting leap in its evolution.