Asia Cloud Computing Association: Covid-19 Economic Resilience and Recovery Capability Reflected in the Cloud Readiness Index 2020

SINGAPORE –
Media OutReach
– 29 May 2020 – In the sixth iteration of the Asia Cloud Computing
Association’s Cloud Readiness Index, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan,
and South Korea continue to lead the CRI 2020 rankings. This year, the CRI2020
adds a dimension of digital insight, as it offers an indication of a market’s
ability to leverage digital cloud computing tools and augment economic recovery
capability from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Some of the hardest-hit
economies with high infection rates are also some of the CRI2020’s top
scorers,” noted Lim May-Ann, Executive Director of the Asia Cloud
Computing Association (ACCA). “The top-scoring group includes many
economies which have done well in containing the virus’ spread, and we will be
keeping a close watch on which economies leverage their strong cloud computing
fundamentals to effect more rapid economic recovery.”

The CRI 2020 is an index of
the readiness of economies to maximise the capabilities of cloud computing,
measuring cloud readiness against ten parameters, including international
connectivity, domestic broadband quality, power sustainability, data centre
risk, cybersecurity, privacy regulations, government regulatory environment,
intellectual property protection, business sophistication, and freedom of
information.

“The international
comparison of cloud readiness across APAC and non-APAC economies also provides
an indicator of which markets have been able to continue economic activity,
albeit with some limitations,” adds Eric Hui, the Chair of the ACCA. “There
is no substitute for strong fundamentals in internet and cloud computing
infrastructure in this respect.”

Three key observations are
made in CRI 2020: firstly, that cloud readiness is advancing in the Asia
Pacific (APAC) region, but progress appears to be stalling. Secondly, the study
notes that while the digital divide has narrowed, core capabilities such as
managing natural risks, privacy, cybersecurity remain fragile, with many
economies still implementing data localisation regulations which stymies cross-border
data flows. And finally, emerging APAC markets risk losing out on economic
recovery from Covid-19 by not leveraging next-generation technologies.

“These observations are
of concern to us at the ACCA,” says Lim May-Ann. “They indicate that some markets
may have chosen to plateau their technology and infrastructural investments,
and have also decided to put in regulatory restrictions around data flows, at a
time when the freedom to use cloud productivity tools is needed the most to
recover from the economic fallout from Covid-19.”

Visit
https://www.asiacloudcomputing.org to download the full report.

Asia Cloud Computing Association – Cloud
Readiness Index 2020

Source: Asia Cloud Computing Association 2020

About the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) @accacloud

The ACCA is the apex industry
association that represents stakeholders of the cloud computing ecosystem in
Asia. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of cloud computing through Asia
Pacific by helping to create a trusted and compelling market environment, and a
safe and consistent regulatory environment for cloud computing products and
services.