Olswang Asia and Asia Cloud Computing Association publish report on cloud regulation for the financial services industry

Olswang Asia Partner Ian Ferguson, who contributed to the report, said: “We were proud to work with the ACCA to publish this report, which sheds light on the current regulatory landscape in the Asia cloud computing space. It’s clear that perceived regulatory challenges are the main hurdle to cloud adoption by businesses in highly regulated sectors, such as those in financial services. We hope that the report and its recommendations further the use of this technology in the region in the future.”
The report, to which Olswang Asia Associate Matthew Hunter also contributed, compares regulations in 14 Asia-Pacific markets in nine specific areas, such as processes for adopting cloud and data use limitations. It also calls for five key recommendations to be enacted by policy makers to improve the conditions for cloud computing adoption:

Regulations should be technology neutral. There should not be separate regulations for the use of cloud services.
Regulations should set out a clear process that should be followed for the adoption of cloud services (as if it were any other form of outsourcing) and approval for the use of cloud services should not be required.
The transfer of data to other jurisdictions should be permitted, subject to appropriate safeguards (e.g. security, business continuity, access and audit).
Regulations should only identify the key issues that should be addressed in outsourcing contracts that include cloud services. They should not be prescriptive of the terms of an outsourcing contract that includes cloud services.
The use of independent third party audits should be an acceptable alternative to audits carried out by FSIs and the regulators.

“FSIs can maximise the benefits of cloud computing by ensuring that they are familiar with the regulatory landscape, and able to assess the degree to which the Cloud Service Providers offering fits into the regulatory landscape,” said Lim May-Ann, ACCA Executive Director.

Olswang Asia is a pre-eminent advisory on cloud services. From its hub in Singapore, the firm’s team of experts in the technology, media and telecoms sectors provides a full range of legal advice on corporate and commercial deals, regional regulatory advice, IP and dispute resolution, including international arbitration. Olswang Asia has been continuously ranked Tier 1 by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

Olswang Asia advises local and international organisations, including the ACCA, BBC Worldwide, Courts, Dentsu Aegis Networks, Disney, Hailo, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Optitune, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, UBS, Vodafone and Yatanarpon Teleport.