Regulations and Security Concerns Hinder Asia’s Move to Cloud Computing

Rather than invest in expensive equipment for a specific event, businesses and governments can lease computer services for a limited time. Singapore has emerged as a regional center for such operations, and the Youth Olympic Games – managing more than 20,000 participants and 350,000 spectators – served as “a showcase for cloud computing in Asia: software, data storage, networking and even computing equipment on tap – as much as a customer desired for only as long as needed,” explains Wayne Arnold for the New York Times. Worried about lost or stolen data, some potential customers hesitate about third parties handling data. Clients in China’s big, fast-growing market, for example, prefer controlling IT, and the government prohibits offshore data storage. Other clients, though, expect the specialists of the providers to offer maximum security. Relying on tremendous trust, the fast-growing service appeals to cost-conscious small businesses and governments, and if successful, could boost their capability against larger competitors. – YaleGlobal