Cloud computing—a mix of software-enabled resources andservices that can be delivered to a user on an as-needed basis—isthe engine that drives today's global,cross-border business.But when it comes to a consistent legal, structural andregulatory framework to deliver these services, developingcountries like India, China and Brazil—increasingly targetedfor global growth by insurance carriers and other industries—areseriously lagging, according to a new study by the Business SoftwareAlliance (BSA), an international IT industry group with policy,legal and/or educational programs in 80 countries.In its newly released Global Cloud ComputingScorecard, BSA ranks the “cloud readiness” of 24 countries thataccount for 80 percent of the global information and communicationstechnology (ICT) market based on seven policy categories:1. Dataprivacy: Balance between laws and regulations and freeability to move data through the cloud efficiently2. Security:Proper management of risks inherent in storing and runningapplications in the cloud3. Cybercrime:Laws providing meaningful deterrence and clear causes ofaction4. Intellectual propertyrights: Intellectual property laws should provide forclear protection and enforcement against misappropriation andinfringement5. Support forindustry-led standards and international rulesharmonization: Government/industry standards collaborationto promote openness and interoperability6. Promoting freetrade: Elimination of barriers to free trade, includingpreferences for products or providers7. ICT readiness,broadband deployment: Policies promoting private sectorinvestment in broadband infrastructure and laws promoting universalaccess to broadband.BSA ranked each country by ranking them on individual criteriain each of the seven categories. The rankings ran from the highestscore of 83.3 to the lowest of 35.1. Click “next” to view the slideshow of the top 12 cloud-readycountries.

1. JapanTotal score: 83.3Data privacy: 8.8 Security: 8.4 Cybercrime:10.0 Intellectualproperty: 17.2 Support forindustry-led standards: 8.8 Promoting freetrade: 9.2 ICT readiness:20.9 “Those interested in advancing cloud computing can find amodel in Japan,” BSA writes. “Japan has a comprehensive suite ofmodern laws that support and facilitate the digital economy andcloud computing—from comprehensive privacy legislation that avoidsburdens on data transfers and data controllers to a full range ofcriminal and IP law protections. Further, Japan is a leader in thedevelopment of international standards related to cloud computing,and the country is working to provide all households withhigh-speed fiber broadband connections in the next 3 years.” Japanalso is among the countries that are members of the WTOAgreement on Government Procurement, which liberalizes suchpolicies.

2. AustraliaTotal score: 79.2Data privacy: 7.9 Security: 6.0 Cybercrime:9.4 Intellectualproperty: 17.6 Support forindustry-led standards: 10.0 Promoting freetrade: 7.0 ICT readiness:21.3Major national broadband network infrastructure improvementsare underway in Australia and a range of EU countries.

3. GermanyTotal score: 79.0Data privacy: 6.6 Security: 6.4 Cybercrime:10.0 Intellectualproperty: 16.8 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.8 Promoting freetrade: 9.2 ICT readiness:20.2“Germany…is a country that scores well in the initialScorecard, but it threatens to undermine that advantage with overlyrestrictive legal interpretations to keep some data within nationalborders,” BSA writes.

4. UnitedStatesTotal score: 78.6Data privacy: 6.5 Security: 7.6 Cybercrime:8.8 Intellectualproperty: 16.6 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.4 Promoting freetrade: 8.0 ICT readiness:21.7The U.S., along with EU members and Japan, has laws that arebroadly compliant with the Convention on Cybercrime. The U.S.'s National Institute for Standardsand Technology is “carefully eyeing cloud computing,” and theU.S. finished third in the section for support of industry-ledstandards and international harmonization of rules.

5. FranceTotal score: 78.4Data privacy: 6.5Security: 7.6 Cybercrime:10.0 Intellectualproperty: 16.4 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.6 Promotingfree trade: 8.8 ICTreadiness: 19.5

6. ItalyTotal score: 76.6Data privacy: 6.2Security: 7.6Cybercrime: 9.6Intellectual property: 17.4Support for industry-led standards: 9.8Promoting free trade: 8.8ICT readiness: 17.2

7. UnitedKingdomTotal score: 76.6Data privacy: 6.9 Security:8.0 Cybercrime:6.8 Intellectualproperty: 17.4 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.2 Promotingfree trade: 6.8 ICTreadiness: 21.5

8. KoreaTotal score: 76.0Data privacy: 9.3 Security:6.0 Cybercrime:4.8 Intellectualproperty: 17.6 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.6 Promotingfree trade: 7.0 ICTreadiness: 21.7“Korea, which replaced its patchwork of privacy protectionswith modern and comprehensive legislation in 2011, scored 9.3 outof 10 available points to top the Scorecard's rankings in theprivacy section,” although the country has also implementedInternet filtering or censorship regimes “that may act as a barrierto the expansion of the digital economy and cloud computing.”

9. SpainTotal score: 73.9Data privacy: 6.5 Security:6.4 Cybercrime:8.8 Intellectualproperty: 15.2 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.8 Promotingfree trade: 9.4 ICTreadiness: 17.8

10. SingaporeTotal score: 72.2Data privacy: 3.2 Security:3.6 Cybercrime:9.0 Intellectualproperty: 17.2 Support forindustry-led standards: 8.8 Promotingfree trade: 8.6 ICTreadiness: 21.8Singapore, along with Russia and Malaysia, has signed/ratifiedthe UN Convention on Electronic Contracting, leading to greaterharmonization.

11. PolandTotal score: 70.7Data privacy: 6.4 Security:5.6 Cybercrime:8.8 Intellectualproperty: 16.8 Support forindustry-led standards: 9.8 Promotingfree trade: 8.4 ICTreadiness: 14.9

12. CanadaTotal score: 70.4Data privacy: 8.1 Security:6.8 Cybercrime:6.2 Intellectualproperty: 10.8 Support forindustry-led standards: 10.0 Promotingfree trade: 9.6 ICTreadiness: 18.9 Although Canada signed the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention in 2001, it has failedto ratify the Convention for more than a decade; and while it has acomprehensive computer crime law in place, it lacks essentialonline investigation and enforcement tools, according to BSA.Additionally, gaps exist in the IP laws of Canada. Click on the next page to see Nos. 13 to 24 in the BSAranking.