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

Written by Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA)

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach ^[1] - 29 May 2020 - In the sixth iteration of the Asia Cloud Computing Association ^[2]'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 ^[3] to download the full report.

Asia Cloud Computing Association - Cloud Readiness Index 2020