Cloud computing is the way forward if both the government and the private sector are to achieve increased economies of scale, ensure that technology becomes a key enabler in fuelling growth and leads to improved literacy and healthcare access in the country.

Emphasizing that 'cloud first' should become part of the official discourse, CEO's taking part in the Cloud Summit 2012said that the challenge was in realizing what cloud computing could do to ensuring more effective governance and improving business practices. Conceding that issues of data security, cost-benefits and business risks needed to be addressed, the industry leaders were, however, clear that the way forward lay in speedily laying out a roadmap in this regard. The summit was organised here on Wednesday by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

As Mr S D Shibulal, Co-Chairman of the CII National Committee on IT, ITeS and E-Commerce and CEO and MD, Infosys Ltd, pointed out that global internet was a reality that we cannot ignore. "Today, most of us do not realise when we are using the cloud, but it has already become part of our everyday life." According to him, cloud computing was an opportunity for both the government and the small and medium businesses (SMEs), which are the true drivers of our economy, to improve productivity, improve economies of scale, cut costs and boost employment.

Highlighting how the government could use the cloud in cutting down costs in delivering services to the people, Mr Sameer Garde, President and MD, Dell India, said that the IT centres being set up at the panchayat level as also the State Data Centres could use the cloud to create common infrastructure that would be accessible by all. "The focus must be on verticals that enable sharing of resources, ensure security and take technology down to the smaller towns and villages."

For Dr Anand Deshpande, Founder and MD, Persistent Systems, cloud computing was the technology that would allow small businesses to access technology at a cheaper cost, improve returns and allow them to tap increased data and research. "More importantly, it will change the way businesses look at using IT, making them substantially revise their existing business models."

Concurring with Mr Deshpande, Mr Raman Roy, CEO, Quatrro Global Services Pvt Ltd., said that the shift to cloud computing was linked to functionality and the price points of the various applications that this service offered. Saying that this was an area where the IT industry in the country needed to focus on, Mr Roy cited the need for more innovative applications, "especially if we are to replicate the success that the Indian Railways has been able to achieve through its online reservation system."

Summarising on the points made by the industry leaders, Mr Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman of the CII National Committee on IT, ITeS and E-Commerce, and Chairman, Microsoft India, said that if there was a thriving eco-system of increased applications, industry would not hesitate in shifting to the cloud. On increased acceptance by the government, he said that it was necessary that a consensus was reached among all states, the centre and other institutions. "This would ensure standardization, leading to lower costs and improved efficiencies and higher growth.