Thailand could achieve its ambitions of building a larger innovation-based economy that will see sustainable job growth, higher wages, and greater standards of living through enhancements to cloud computing and digital economy policy framework, according to a study.

Among the findings from a new study on The Digital Economy and Cloud Computing from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and research firm Galexia, which focuses on 14 Asia-Pacific economies, Thailand has made a positive start with regard to cloud computing and digital economy policy—however there are significant gaps that must be addressed to keep up with the Asia-Pacific region's competing economies. Bolstering cyber security and protecting privacy are among the policy enhancements that would raise Thailand's economic opportunities in relation to cloud computing and digital economy regulatory environments.

"The rapid growth of cloud computing requires Thailand to quickly establish its policy priorities so that the country's business community can maximise opportunities in the cloud and digital economy," said Jirawan Boonperm, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT). "Thailand clearly has strengths in our policy framework, but there are areas in which we can and must do better. Inspiring online confidence and trust will help to give Thailand a competitive edge in attracting investors, creating good jobs and growing our IT industry."

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product , whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid ) over a network (typically the Internet ).

"There are strengths in some areas of Thailand's policy framework on cloud computing, and with enhancements in other areas Thailand can have a very compelling policy framework for the digital economy," said Roger Somerville, BSA's Senior Director for Government and Policy, Asia Pacific. "Enacting privacy laws would give Thailand a significant boost in maximising opportunities presented by cloud computing."

Somerville noted that Thailand has developed comprehensive cybercrime legislation, which will help to enhance confidence in ICT. Thailand also has good laws in place regarding electronic commerce and electronic signatures, he said.

The study examines the legal and regulatory framework of 14 Asia-Pacific economies: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It examines eight categories. It finds that the Asia Pacific region has the potential to become the worldwide hub for cloud computing services. However, it found that virtually all economies across the region would benefit from improvements in varying degrees to existing laws and regulations to promote cloud computing across borders.

Security. The majority of Asian economies have have clear, technology neutral electronic signature laws, and have established regulatory schemes for the certification of signatures, where necessary. Security requirements are in place in most jurisdictions. However, a large number of economies have introduced Internet filtering/censorship regimes that may act as a barrier to the expansion of the digital economy and cloud computing.

Cybercrime. The majority of economies have either computer crime legislation or cybercrime legislation, and many laws are broadly compliant with the Convention on Cybercrime. However, there is great divergence in rules relating to investigation and enforcement, including access to encrypted data and extraterritorial offenses.

Interoperability. Although the majority of Asian economies have laws or regulations establishing a framework for interoperability and portability of data, there are inconsistencies in the approach of governments to standards development processes. Many ad hoc decisions are made in the absence of national frameworks and policies. This is an area where serious work is required to promote and accelerate standards development.

Data privacy. The majority of Asian economies has data protection laws in place and has established independent privacy commissioners. There are substantial law reform in the field, with major review and proposals in Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Philippines and Taiwan. However, key jurisdictions, including China, India and Indonesia do not yet have data protection laws in place.

Intellectual property rights. The region is moving towards a consistent approach on many key rights and protections, although there is still a diversity of approaches to rights management information and circumventing technology. There are some gaps in the IP laws of key jurisdictions, including India and the Philippines.

International harmonization of rules. E-commerce laws were very consistent across the region, with most economies implementing laws based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on E Commerce and/or the UN Convention on Electronic Contracting. Several economies have signed or ratified the Convention, leading to greater harmonisation. Tariffs and trade barriers for online software and applications are extremely rare in the region.

Free trade. There remains scattered adherence to procurement preferences. Such preferences reduce competition and may have a long-term impact on the availability and cost of cloud computing products and services in some economies. Nevertheless, a growing number of economies had become members of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, which liberalizes such policies.

Infrastructure. Broadband availability and penetration in the region is inconsistent, and there is a risk that several economies do not yet have the infrastructure in place that can support and take full advantage of the digital economy and cloud computing.

The study does not rank the quality of the legal and regulatory environment in the economies examined. It was intended to provide relevant information on whether issues that need to be addressed in laws or regulations are so addressed in the respective Asian economies. Because of the breadth of issues and the number of economies covered, the study presents a ground-level evaluation, one that looks at whether the foundational requirements of a digital economy have been addressed, rather than probing deeply into how well such requirements have been addressed, said Somerville.

"With this study, we hope to provide a platform for discussion with policy makers, with a view towards further advancing the growth of digital economy and cloud computing in Asia through policy innovation and greater economic and trade integration. Our intent is for it to be used as a tool that can help policy-makers conduct a constructive self-evaluation, and determine the next steps that need to be taken to build confidence in the cloud environment by protecting the privacy, security and safety of cloud users; to promote interoperability and data portability; and to stimulate the innovation that is essential for an economy to enjoy the full benefits of cloud computing," he said.