The Cloud28+ initiative has entered a new phase with the beta launch of a centralized cloud services catalogue for the European Union (EU) and a streamlined certification scheme. Cloud28+ is a community of commercial and public sector organizations with the common goal to remove barriers to cloud adoption imposed by the fragmentation of the European market, by creating a one-stop shop for cloud services in the EU.
More than 110 official members throughout the European Union (EU) are now entitled to offer their cloud services via the Cloud28+ service catalogue. Enterprises can easily identify and implement the cloud services they need, while complying with local regulations. In addition, the EuroCloud Star Audit (ECSA) program reduces the necessity to perform costly individual audits and delivers a high level of transparency and guidance for both customers and service providers.
According to a cloud survey with 151,000 EU companies, carried out by EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, lack of knowledge, security concerns and legal uncertainty are amongst the most important barriers for cloud adoption in Europe1. Cloud28+ aims to overcome these obstacles by establishing a central EU cloud services marketplace. It provides an easy and transparent way to find cloud services, which match both functional and non-functional criteria, such as security or data privacy regulations. Also, the federated and open architecture of Cloud28+ will enable enterprises to choose the data center location and provider by which a cloud service is operated, thus ensuring compliance with local laws and business requirements.
“Cloud is a critical component to ensuring a stronger digital economy in Europe,” says Xavier Poisson, HP Helion vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Hosted and secured in Europe, the cloud services provided over the Cloud28+ catalogue are based on a common framework in terms of quality, costs and security. This is already creating new opportunities for cloud service providers, greater choice for enterprises, and better access for developers. HP believes Cloud28+ will play an integral role accelerating organizations’ transformation to hybrid infrastructure, while protecting sensitive data that serves as the foundation of their rapidly evolving digital business.”
Cloud28+ is a fast-growing, open community of service providers, resellers, ISVs, channel partners, developers and public entities, all committed to boosting enterprise cloud service availability across Europe. Access to a single, federated catalogue of European cloud services ensures that it is as simple as possible for users to find the services they need, freeing organizations from the limitations of a fragmented marketplace and fostering agile services, job opportunities, creativity and competitiveness across the region.
The ECSA – a fully independent cloud certification scheme – now provides Cloud28+ partners with an accountable quality rating for cloud services, making it easier for enterprises and SMEs to select the right services for their needs.
As well as Cloud28+, HP is working closely with the EU on a number of projects tied to accountability, security and compliance, including the new ‘Discovery’ program, which aims to boost collaboration between Europe, the USA and Canada.
