Cloud computing to boost UK economy by €30 billion

Cloud computing will boost the UK economy by 30 billion a year (25 billion), according to a new report.

The research, carried out by the centre for economics and business research (CEBR) and commissioned by storage giants EMC, showed the buzz word technology would increase not just the UK economy, but those of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, to a total of 177.3 billion per year by 2015.

CEBR claimed the money would come from the creation of new business opportunities, as the scalable nature of cloud computing "speeds up time-to-market, removes traditional barriers to entry and allows companies to exploit new market opportunities." However, it would only reach these heights in countries continued to adopt cloud computing at the rate shown throughout 2010.

The report said: "The CEBR believes that cloud computing will be a significant driver of economic growth, competitiveness and business creation across the Eurozone. It highlights the important role that this technology will have in the economic recovery of the territory, particularly in facing the increasing threat posed by emerging economies that traditionally benefit from higher levels of competitiveness."

Although the report recognised the importance of public, private and hybrid clouds, it claimed the latter two would be the major contributors, accounting for 133 billion, or 75 per cent, of the generated value.

This will be music to EMC's ears, which has been pushing "the journey to the private cloud" as its mantra since its annual conference back in May.

We contacted CEBR to find out how it came to the 30 billion figure, along with the 75 per cent being down to private and hybrid clouds. However, Oliver Hogan, managing economist at CEBR and economist responsible for the report, was not available for comment at the time of publication.

The prediction of an adrenaline shot to the UK economy couldn't come at a better time, with the Government having announced billions of pounds of cuts in an attempt to lower the nation's deficit following the global recession.

CEBR claimed the predicted growth would "comfortably pay" for all the savings the Government has put forward.

Hogan said: "CEBR's study shows that, not only is cloud computing an issue from the micro perspective of boosting the efficiency of an individual company's IT investment and, hence, of its corporate productivity, but also that, especially in the present uncertain economic climate, it is also likely to be a critical macro-economic factor that will be crucial for boosting Europe's economic growth."