[LINK] US Ambassador and Cloud computing
Jan Whitaker
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
Wed Dec 12 09:19:34 AEDT 2012
[Although I understand his practical point from his economic
perspective (not sure it's from an Australian perspective if we could
get some economic benefit from local storage), what he seems to leave
out of the equation is the imbalance of the US governance issues with
regard to data protection and US over-reach under the Patriot Act. If
he had at least mentioned it, his essay would have had a smidge more
honesty in it. Perhaps one of our connected readers can put a note in
the ambassador's box, reminding him there is more than an economic
filter to apply to the TPP.]
Cloud agreement can bring blue skies
Jeffrey Bleich
Published: December 11, 2012 - 3:00AM
Whether we know it or not, we all use the global ''cloud'' for many
of the critical things we do each day on our computers, tablets and
mobile phones. This cloud, which is a set of powerful servers that
can perform global computing services, will increasingly host
Australia's and America's future. So now is the critical time to
understand and embrace it.
Over the past decade, new technologies have revolutionised the
ability of every person on Earth to generate, store, and retrieve
unprecedented amounts of data. In fact, more than 90 per cent of all
data that exists today was generated in just the past two years, and
that pace is accelerating.
By 2015, most data will be in the cloud, where each of us can access
it safely and cheaply. Already, just by tapping a few keys, we can
Skype with overseas friends, get a satellite picture of a storm
heading our way, buy a new iPad, or read the great works of the
world's libraries.
And this is only the beginning. Australia, with its high-speed
national broadband network, is poised to lead the Asia-Pacific in
taking advantage of this next big wave of innovation, as long as we
act together now to ensure a healthy cloud atmosphere.
By their nature, cloud services are not bound by borders. A cloud
service provider located in Sydney or Silicon Valley has direct,
immediate access to more than 1 billion broadband consumers in any
part of the globe.
That is part of why Australia and the United States are both
investing in broadband networks and data centres. Combined with the
cloud, this sets our nations up for tremendous trade success,
compared with nations that rely on older, slower, more expensive,
less secure and less capable data systems. So we have a serious stake
in ensuring US and Australian firms can use the best cloud services
to reach foreign customers.
The biggest obstacle to this bright future is fear that fuels a
growing ''cloud protectionism''.
Like people who once thought keeping their money hidden under the
mattress was better than having it in a bank, some voices across the
region, and even in Australia, have called for limiting the flow of
data across borders, and requiring firms to install local data
centres in each market to ensure local ''control''. This ''beggar thy
neighbour'' protectionism would be just as self-defeating in the
digital economy as in every other sector. In Australia, such
restrictions would undermine the economic benefits the NBN would
deliver by cutting off access to the highest quality, lowest price
and most secure cloud services for businesses, government and
consumers. While some local providers may get a windfall, everyone
else would lose out.
One way to stop cloud protectionism is through the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, or TPP. On Wednesday in Auckland, officials from
Australia and the US will work with counterparts from nine other
Asia-Pacific countries to craft this ambitious new trade agreement
that seeks to integrate the economies of the Asia-Pacific.
This is a rare opportunity to set the rules of the road for regional
commerce for generations to come.
The US President, Barack Obama, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard,
and other TPP leaders have committed to making this a visionary,
state-of-the-art agreement for the 21st century. To achieve this, the
rules must provide clear skies for the cloud by ensuring data flows
just as freely as goods, services and investment.
Cloud critics usually claim local data centres would somehow be
better at protecting sensitive data from foreign hackers or snooping
governments. But threats to privacy and security exist throughout
cyberspace, regardless of whether data is stored in the global cloud,
a server in the office basement or a hard drive on your home
computer. Like keeping money under the mattress, keeping data ''at
home'' not only deprives you of all the benefits the global cloud
offers, but it is probably far less safe as well. What we want is not
the best local solution for protecting our sensitive data, but the
best global solution. The economies of scale enjoyed by the large
cloud service vendors give them the resources and expertise to
achieve far higher levels of security than you could with the servers
in your IT closet. The TPP, moreover, gives us the chance to develop
a common approach to protecting privacy that would serve well
companies and consumers in TPP nations.
Together, the US and Australia can lead in this 21st century digital
economy, and there is no better opportunity for doing so than
adopting a TPP that reflects reality, and by dispelling unfounded
fears so we can enjoy the full benefits of the cloud.
Jeffrey Bleich is the US ambassador to Australia.
This story was found at:
http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/government-it/cloud-agreement-can-bring-blue-skies-20121211-2b77f.html
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer
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