At CeBIT 2011, the global high-tech fair held on 1-5 March in Hanover, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes was on the same wavelength as the industry, championing cloud computing, the fair's showcase subject.
Cloud computing refers to the use of networks like the internet by companies or public administrations to access data or software stored on the computers of a service provider based at a remote location. Numerous firms are starting to offer cloud computing services, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Cisco and Microsoft. This practice can reduce companies' IT costs and multiply their computing potential. The public services are joining in the move.
The commissioner has already announced that she hopes to launch an EU action no later than 2012 to respond to the legal, technical and commercial questions this development raises. In addition to the "great commercial opportunities" for telecoms and IT firms and high-tech SMEs, governments have to make sure that the phenomenon does not run counter to data protection in the EU or the single market.
RESERVOIR AND OPTIMIS
In Hanover, she presented a few examples of EU-funded projects like RESERVOIR, aimed at creating a European cloud. This research project is focusing on the development of software that would use different suppliers' under-exploited IT resources to provide a service on demand to enterprises and public administrations. RESERVOIR is already developing open source software (OpenNebula) capable of offering cloud computing in the EU. It can be downloaded free of charge. The Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica and the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) use it. The project is led by industry, universities and research centres in Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It is financed by the EU's research programme in the amount of 10.5 million for total costs of 17.22 million. The project began in February 2008 and will run until March 2011.
Other programmes like OPTIMIS aim to develop software for managing one's existence in the cloud. OPTIMIS focuses on services to SMEs. According to market studies, this type of software generated some 92 million in earnings in 2010, expected to triple by 2013. OPTIMIS is steered by universities and research centres in Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The EU is co-financing it with 7.1 million; its total costs add up to 10.3 million. The project began in June 2010 and is expected to be concluded in May 2013.
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