The notion of countries being protective of their intellectual property, jobs, and economy, is not new. In fact, nations have tended to be very protectionist of their economic advantages and resources (whatever they may be) in order to be more competitive in the global marketplace. No where is this behavior more evident than in managed services.
As I have traveled the world I have met with MSPs from different nations. While their business challenges may be somewhat similar to other MSPs in the world, these service providers tend to share rather unique (one might call it protectionist) views on managed services, IT outsourcing, and cloud. MSPs embrace the concept of outsourcing; they actively sell IT outsourcing services like managed services and cloud computing to their customers. These services often allow customers to focus on core competencies and keep their existing labor force dedicated to what the company does best, instead of struggling to keep up with the ever changing and growing complexities of IT management.
Soon after the dotcom bust, the issue of IT offshoring became hotly debated within the United States, and in some other countries where it was viewed that IT offshoring was harmful economically. Fast forward to 2013, and you still have these same issues being debated, although from a slightly different vantage point. Today, it's not just about job loss and economics. National sovereignty privacy, and national security issues are becoming commonplace in the discussion about cloud computing.
FISA Take the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or FISA, which allows the US government to track and access communications of US citizens both within and outside of the United States. The law allows the US government to eavesdrop on communications that involve public cloud; sites like Google, Facebook, and other public cloud sites are all fair game for government surveillance. Organizations like the EU have a legitimate right to be concerned about the privacy of its citizens and the threats posed by regulations like FISA.
Beyond Facebook and other highly trafficked websites, individuals and businesses outside the US have a real reason to be fearful of where their data resides. So, what is the answer?
Private Cloud to the Rescue I believe, and others as well, that private cloud has the potential to address both issues; data privacy and economics. By deploying managed services via private cloud, MSPs can offer their customers a unique blend of outsourced IT management combined with the benefits of "in country" data storage that should effectively avoid data snooping by governments relying on laws such as FISA.
This does not mean that public cloud will disappear. Residential and businesses that do not have any data privacy concerns will continue to adopt public cloud as a cost effective means of advancing the effectiveness of their IT without radically increasing their IT budgets. For those individuals and businesses that do have data privacy concerns, private cloud can alleviate those concerns without having to go outside their own country. This is the promise of private cloud.
Not only is private cloud immediately responsive to the data security and privacy needs of customers it holds great promise for MSPs who can deliver highly effective services that other foreign MSPs cannot. What could be more patriotic than private cloud?
