Industry experts interviewed by Computer Weekly believe that implementing a national cloud strategy in the UK could support the growth of the domestic industry, ensure data sovereignty, and reduce the dominance of major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. These experts argue that the lack of open standards in the cloud industry leads to negative effects such as high costs and slower progress on important issues like emissions reduction. They suggest that supporting open standards and improving government policies and strategies would allow smaller cloud providers to thrive. There are calls for regulatory bodies like the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to take action to address the dominance of hyperscale cloud providers and encourage a more innovative and diverse ecosystem in the UK. Some experts also propose exploring models of shared ownership or local partnership to ensure fairness and competition in the market. However, others believe that heavy regulation is not the solution and that businesses should have the freedom to compete. The Ofcom review highlighted the need to address market features that restrict multicloud and switching, including data egress fees, price controls, interoperability, and portability.
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