Europe has a new lobbying body, one with a self-stated mission to “improve competition, transparency, and resilience” in the cloud computing sector.
The Open Cloud Coalition (OCC) counts 10 members at launch, the most notable one being Google, supported by cloud providers spanning international and local markets including Centerprise International, Civo, Gigas, ControlPlane, DTP Group, Prolinx, Pulsant, Clairo and Room 101. Part of its work will involve conducting cloud market research and presenting the results to regulators both in the European Union and the U.K., while “engaging in consultations on competition and market fairness,” according to a statement issued today.
The launch comes just hours after Microsoft deputy general counsel Rima Alaily preempted the announcement, publishing a blog post accusing Google of conducting a “shadow campaign” to influence cloud regulation in Europe. Alaily called the new organization an “astroturf group organized by Google,” adding that Google had “gone through great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding, and control” by using smaller European cloud providers as the face of the coalition.
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I’m so old that my email is name.surname@gmail.com (along with one under pseudonym). It’s not that there’s problem with choice, I haven’t gotten that far. Changing primary e-mail for accounts created over 20 years sounds like an insurmountable task every time I consider it.
There’s also perceived stability with a corpo backed email. I don’t know if Tuta will be around in the next 20 years. Google probably will be, in one form or another.