Working with Industry to Create an Australian Cloud Computing Hub
Macquarie Telecom is leading a new industry coalition to build Australian consumer and business confidence in cloud computing.
Announced on 12 October 2011, OzHub members are Macquarie Telecom, Fujitsu, VMware and Infoplex. We are working with consumer groups to understand consumers’ needs, and to develop a self-regulating framework and a set of protocols for cloud computing here in Australia.
The OzHub aims are to:
- Position Australia as a national and regional cloud hosting centre
- Create new jobs, increase productivity
- Develop new management skills around cloud services
- Attract investment from overseas into Australia
- Provide data security for those organization compelled, or preferring, to host their data in Australia
- Provide cloud hosting services within Australia’s privacy legal framework
- Promote new internet links to the rest of the world
- Create a new compete vie framework for users of the cloud
- Define regulations and protocols for hosting cloud services in Australia
- Create new levels of consumer and business confidence in the cloud in Australia
The business case: a new report by Lateral Economics
OzHub has been launched as a result of an economic paper commissioned by Macquarie Telecom and produced by economist Nicholas Gruen of Lateral Economics.
Called The Potential for Cloud Computing Services in Australia (PDF 658k), it was launched on 12 October 2011 by Senator the Hon. Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
It states that Australia is well-positioned to become a world leader in creating jobs and industry in the 21st century by becoming a cloud computing hub.
The paper calls on Australia to act quickly to seize this opportunity, by taking the following steps:
- Create the right legislative framework
- Create the right climate for investment
- Promote Australia’s advantages around data security
- Create new standards for contracts and disclosure
