Last week Cyberport, Hong Kong’s hub for ICT, was host to the Next Generation Information Technology and Standard Symposium, with a focus on cloud computing. Standardization, or rather, lack thereof, was one of the key issues as a potential roadblock to further development. Standardization is necessary to prevent vendor lock-in and ensure interoperability between clouds.
Speakers and panelists from Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen explained their respective cities’ plans for the cloud. Apart from the five cloud hubs already set up in these cities (plus Hangzhou and Wuxi), the Mainland government plans to build 20 more cloud computing centres in the country. This year, the mainland market for cloud computing services is expected to grow to RMB 94.9 billion.
Besides standardization, significant hurdles do remain: According to the Asia Cloud Computing Association, China ranks 8th (out of 14) on the Asian ‘Cloud Readiness Index’. The index takes into account various parameters such as regulatory conditions and power grid quality.
Hong Kong however seems well positioned to take advantage of developments in the cloud. Ranking 2nd, behind Japan, it is lauded for its ICT infrastucture and good policy governance. Download the full report here.