Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland are the top five countries harnessing the power of the cloud most effectively. MIT Technology Review and Infosys Cobalt’s Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2022 placed the U.S. cloud economy advancement at #17 in global rankings.
The first edition of the Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2022 ranked 76 nations and territories based on how effectively they leveraged cloud technology. The parameters were:
- Cloud infrastructure (network access and speed, servers, data centers)
- Ecosystem adoption (the extent to which consumers and companies use the cloud)
- Security (public policy and social conventions, cybersecurity)
- The ability to attract talent to the field (depth and quality)
The cloud has proven to be a game-changer in helping organizations fulfill their computing needs. The technology has allowed businesses to shed legacy capital-intensive deployments, decrease deployment cycles, streamline implementation, expand uptime, etc.
As a result, organizations of all sizes are equally equipped to fulfill their respective needs and optimally leverage existing and new technologies such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and 5G.
“Connectivity is fundamental to prosperity, and the cloud is leveling the playing field for companies — particularly those that are small and those that are headquartered in developing countries,†noted Ravi Kumar S, president of Infosys Limited.
“By providing the same suite of technologies and services, regardless of size and location, and doing so at reasonable price points, the cloud breaks down barriers to growth and helps stimulate those employment opportunities that can boost living standards.â€
Based on the level of cloud infrastructure, ecosystem adoption, security and assurance, and talent and human affinity, the top ten scorers in the Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2022 are all European countries, barring the first place, which goes to Singapore.
|
Rank |
Country | Cloud Index Score | Rank | Country |
Cloud Index Score |
|
1 |
Singapore | 8.48 | 11 | United Kingdom | 8 |
| 2 | Finland | 8.46 | 12 | Australia |
7.91 |
|
3 |
Sweden | 8.43 | 13 | Netherlands | 7.87 |
| 4 | Denmark | 8.28 | 14 | New Zealand |
7.78 |
|
5 |
Switzerland | 8.28 | 15 | Japan | 7.76 |
| 6 | Germany | 8.13 | 16 | Ireland |
7.74 |
|
7 |
Iceland | 8.13 | 17 | United States | 7.71 |
| 8 | France | 8.07 | 18 | Austria |
7.71 |
|
9 |
Norway | 8.07 | 19 | South Korea | 7.63 |
| 10 | Luxembourg | 8.04 | 20 | Canada |
7.58 |
Each of the parameters on which countries were measured also depends on governmental support, regulatory frameworks and digital practices undertaken. For instance, Singapore’s government is pursuing an aggressive cloud-first approach wherein most government IT resources are being migrated to the cloud. Singapore had approximately 600 government systems in the cloud as of January 2022.
Pro-cloud government policies and infrastructure have made Singapore and European countries the epicenter of cloud development and innovation.
See More: 5G, IoT, Edge and Cloud: The Winning Combination
On the other end of the spectrum, seven African countries featured among the bottom ten in the Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2022. These countries fared poorly across all parameters, considering the continent has below-par network connectivity and related infra, lags in developing a cloud ecosystem, and suffers from a general shortage of tech talent.
MIT Technology Review and Infosys Cobalt also highlighted four bright spots that are doing well within each parameter. Overall ranking at #19, just above Canada, South Korea has a robust network infrastructure supported by a competitive communications services industry and a well-coordinated national information technology development policy.
South Korea is the world’s most densely serviced broadband market, wherein 86% of the population has access to high-speed fiber-optic internet connections. This is only increasing with the rapid adoption of 5G, which has, in turn, spurred cloud technology co-development through “sandbox†environments.
India fared better in terms of cloud ecosystem development. The India Stack project, along with Aadhar, the world’s largest digital citizen identification project, and the Unified Payments Interface, which accounted for over $1 trillion in transacted value in 38 billion transactions, positioned India as one of the top cloud dev destinations amongst lower-middle-income countries.
Belgium has allocated 27% of the €5 billion post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility funds from the EU for cybersecurity. We can expect a lot from Iran regarding talent growth as the country is pumping out nearly 250,000 engineering graduates each year. Even though talent is abundant in Iran, geopolitical sanctions and the possibility of the Online Services Bill may hinder the country’s access to global technologies.
Note: The Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2022 is based on the analysis of global macroeconomic, labor, trade, and technology data and primary research interviews with global technology developers, analysts, and policymakers.
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