In 2017, the MCA joined EuroCloud Europe (ECE) as an Associate Member. ECE is a member-driven, non-profit organization of associations across Europe. Its aim is to provide guidance, share knowledge and raise awareness on new cloud-based business models and opportunities especially for SMEs to foster the development of a European Digital Single Market.
As part of its ongoing activities, ECE aligns its projects in accordance to the specific work streams that they have established. These streams - including the “Trust in Cloud”, the “Cloud Awards” and the “Cloud Know How” streams - help ECE achieve the goals it set out on a European level, and aim to increase awareness in relation to the use of Cloud Computing amongst businesses.
“StarAudit” is another ECE stream, focused on facilitating and rewarding growth amongst cloud-based services and innovations. This stream offers a certification scheme to establish trust in cloud services, both on the customer and on the user side.
The full List of ECE streams is available at https://eurocloud.org/streams/staraudit/
The MCA as chair of the MCF, believes that ECE’s streams are in-line with the MCF’s values and beliefs. The first stream which the MCA contributed to in 2018 was the “Trust in Cloud” stream, through which in collaboration with EC English, the MCA created a short clip showcasing EC’s successful transition to the Cloud. Throughout the video, the interviewee - Simon Jones, Head of IT at EC English - explains in great detail the preparation required, the technologies adopted and the advantages gained when migrating onto the Cloud.
The full interview can be viewed at https://trustincloud.eurocloud.org/stories/ec-english-language-centres/
In the coming year, the MCA is planning to contribute to the “Cloud Awards” stream by including a cloud category in the annual MCA eBusiness awards.