Britain will get to vote on the referendum in the United Kingdom about European Union membership on June 23, (the scenario in which the UK leaves the EU). Whatever the possible outcome will be, the so-called “Brexit” will have more than its share of ups and downs and it will definitely influence the UK’s economy. While Europe’s information technology industries would not spend sleepless nights, the same cannot be said about Britain.
But what does the #Brexit means for the Cloud Computing industry. Brexit is a potential Operational Risk and has a real impact on individual companies. Employees, customers, suppliers, investors and investments will all feel the heat from this decision. Here are some areas where it is most likely to impact your organization.
Sysfore can help you tide over this confusion, in case Britain agrees for a Brexit. Having over a decade’s worth of cloud expertise, we can make the smooth transition from a UK data center to any region of your choice. Contact us at info@sysfore.com or call us to know more.
Brexit will expose skill gaps for businesses:
Depending on the negotiating terms following the Brexit there could be further complication with hiring people across Europe who have specific and desired IT skills.
The obvious outcome is that more visas will be required with more security checks and clearances. In addition to this, outsourcing companies will increase their costs, or invest in remote outsourcing. The demand and supply of talented and skilled IT professionals will be skewed and the UK will be less attractive for the foreign staff.
Brexit and data regulation:
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will still apply to the UK companies offering any type of service to the EU market, whether your business stores or processes data on the EU soil and whether the UK stays in the EU or not.
The latest data rule known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), were agreed in Brussels in December 2015 and will be enforced in 2018 and will have serious implications for both EU and non-EU companies.
The new rules includes:
- Penalties of up to €100 million or 4% of annual worldwide turnover, whichever is greater.
- Increased territorial scope to cover anyone doing business in the EU regardless of their headquarters location.
- Tighter requirements for obtaining valid consent to the processing of personal data.
- Enhanced restrictions on profiling and targeted advertising.
- New data breach reporting obligations.
- Direct legal compliance obligations for data processors.
- Extended data protection rights for individuals, including the odious “right to be forgotten” clause.
- Processing companies—such as third-party vendors or technology service providers—are now subject to regulation and privacy compliance.
UK being outside of the EU, would raise serious questions. Cloud providers will now have to focus on keeping the EU customer data in a datacenter in Europe in order to meet EU data transfer requirements.
Brexit and trade agreements:
Leaving the EU means redrawing the contractual agreements between the UK and the European countries. It will affect all areas of trade including the IT, adding to delays to procurement, and complications to business.
Until the Brexit details have been negotiated, businesses will not push for long term and/or outsourcing as they wrestle with the wider ramifications of a Brexit. This might in turn lead to a struggle for the financial services, manufacturing, and retail & wholesale sectors to sustain current levels of IT spending.
What the 23rd June outcome will be, is anybody’s guess. But the ramifications of such a decision will be heard for long.
Sysfore can help you tide over this confusion, in case Britain agrees for a Brexit. Having over a decade’s worth of cloud expertise, we can make the smooth transition from a UK centric data center to any region of your choice. Contact us info@sysfore.com or call us at +91-80-4110-5555. +91 9845189275 or +91 9845698669.