Last week, we presented the OSC Report, revealing the data behind our call to accelerate the adoption of Open Services Cloud (OSC) in Europe. We held incredible and thought-provoking discussions about the importance of creating technical opportunities and unlocking the European cloud services market.
By overcoming the challenges of the current cloud ecosystem, OSC increases market competitiveness, reduces complexity and risk for developers, optimises integration costs for users, and enables cloud portability for all.
In another discussion covering the relevant policies and regulations, we highlighted how the OSC vision synergises with already-existing European legislation and the upcoming EU regulatory framework.
OSC makes it easier to combine cloud services, ensure consistency across multiple clouds, and control digital data via a comprehensive multi-level approach.
The implementation of a functional Open Services Cloud (OSC) will empower European innovation for both users and service providers, bringing significant economic benefits.
Assessing the economic benefits of Open Services Cloud
We used an economic modelling approach to assess the potential impact of enabling real cloud data interoperability and portability on the EU cloud services market from 2025 to 2030. Our findings revealed three primary benefits for customers, service providers, and everyday users.
- Lowered cloud service prices: Cloud interoperability brings prices down by reducing the cost of running cloud platforms, boosting economies of scale, and driving fair competition in the European cloud market. Our study predicts a decrease in cloud service prices for EU consumers of up to 13% by 2030.
- Increased growth of the cloud services market: OSC accelerates the shift towards more portable and efficient cloud services while increasing the adoption of data analytics and AI solutions among lower-tier service providers. This will result in up to 15% growth in cloud services by 2030 — that’s €94B in growth for the European economy.
- Emergence of a strong EU cloud services ecosystem: With reduced barriers to entry and diversified cloud service strategies, European software developers and enterprises (SME) will increase their respective market shares: 5% for EU-based software companies, 10% for EU cloud service providers, and 2% for European SMEs over 2025–2030.
By supporting EU-based companies and the European cloud services market, OSC will also enhance international development and boost the European presence in global digital markets. As early OSC adopters, European cloud service providers can leverage their first-mover advantage in interoperability to expand their international market share.
OSC and the EU cloud ecosystem: UNLOCK the future
As the EU works towards future regulatory frameworks, the OSC initiative unites the European cloud ecosystem in a joint effort to UNLOCK the cloud.
- An open-source solution: Open Services Cloud must be built as an open-source system. As the biggest open-source foundation headquartered in Europe, the Eclipse Foundation is an ideal partner to host such development.
- Interactions with the EU regulations: EU regulations tend towards cloud interoperability, which can be successfully implemented through OSC to ensure compliance and fair competition.
- Interactions with the EU industry: Europe is setting key industry standards around dataspaces, data privacy, and digital sovereignty. OSC provides a solution that will support the implementation of major new initiatives.
- Interactions with EU clouds: OSC fosters the growth of cloud services in Europe, allowing for the potential coverage of native interconnections with the nine common EU dataspaces.
The mission of the OSC initiative is not limited to the upcoming EU regulatory framework but instead offers benefits globally.
Find out more in our recent report about the results of the Open Services Cloud study assessing technical, economic, and legal aspects of the proposed framework. Read the report now.
Become part of a new vision for the cloud services market!
We will soon set up an Open Services Cloud Working Group at the Eclipse Foundation.
Interested in being part of this initiative right from the start?
Reach out to Michael Plagge or to me to get involved!
It’s time to UNLOCK the Cloud.
