A Revolution in the Clouds

Cloud computing could be a huge benefit for Italian companies. It is well-known that with the cloud, several levels of service in information technology can be identified, from simple storage to specialized software, offered through the web. According to real necessity, the user makes pay-as-you-go purchases without needing to place large hardware and software equipment in house, which often remains underused.
From a supply point of view, the cloud is presented as a revolutionary service that cannot be overlooked; from the point of view of demand, there are some who fear for the security of their data and privacy. It remains certain that, from an economic standpoint, this phenomenon is very interesting: it allows companies to make a fixed cost a variable one. If cloud providers were able to adequately take advantage of economies of scale (creating, for example, enormous server farms with savings in energy and personnel) and to be effectively competitive (simplifying, for example, data portability for users), then excellent opportunities for the business world would open up therefore creating more competition for country-systems as a result of the positive effect on productivity.
The sectors that could derive the most benefit are first of all those characterized by a greater impact from IT costs, those in which the variability of business is greater (IT equipment sized for peak periods remain underused during other periods), and those in which personnel is spread over a greater distance and where information must be shared. The cloud may therefore involve mainly services with greater added value (ICT services themselves, professional, scientific and technical firms and administrative activities) and involve traditional manufacturing firms less. But though in Italy the area of industry seems penalized compared to other European partners, there is a different story for creation and company size.
When transforming IT costs from fixed to variable, it becomes easier for companies to reach a breakeven point. This advantage is not insignificant for our country if the following factors are considered: the high creation rate of new businesses, their smaller size and the large impact of micro and small enterprises in the creation of GDP and employment. In terms of size (with the factor of industry being less important), adopting the cloud would also lead to more benefits to the economy of Southern Italy if the fragmentation of the entrepreneurial fabric is considered. The important issue which is a requirement for the cloud remains to be faced: the diffusion of broadband to be able to use services delivered remotely at a level equal to that which occurs with traditional IT.
Like all technologies, the cloud is an ongoing process which requires high standards of security and privacy. However, the quality of the regulatory framework cannot entirely replace the behavior of service providers, if only because of the structural differences between the speed of technological change and that of regulatory processes. This is most important in the case of the cloud, in which the dematerialization of IT services and the distance between provider and user determines an asymmetry of information that can be filled not only through regulation but also through the reputation that providers build over time, using trust as a true competitive advantage.