New Cloud Computing Policy Could Spell Trouble for Amazon, Others

A new cloud computing policy report, expected to be filed by August-end or September could complicate matters for global technology giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM. A panel formed by the government of India, headed by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, wants data generated in India to be stored within the country to encourage data localization. This also means that agencies conducting investigations can gain easier access to data, says a report on Reuters.

This step would require companies to expand data center capacity to fit customer data currently hosted outside India, which will lead to significant increase in costs. The power costs in India are currently significantly high and the need to get permits would also add to the cost.

The government panel's draft listed Amazon, IBM and Microsoft among key companies already registered under a government initiative on cloud computing. How the companies deal with this issue can only be seen once the draft is filed and does actually come into place.