By Emmanuel Elebeke

Stakeholders at a day joint round table organised by National Institute of Advanced  Legal Studies, NIALS   have called for the establishment of a comprehensive legal framework that would enforce a faster means of adopting the use of cloud computing in Nigeria.

The event drew IT experts from private and public sectors to evaluate the outcome of a research study conducted by the NIALS and sponsored by Microsoft on the topic: identifying Gaps in Data Privacy and Security in Adoption of Cloud Computing in Nigeria.

According to the study, most Nigerians are ignorant of cloud computing, despite its significance to economic development. Speakers at the event noted that the benefits of cloud computing is huge but for the little awareness among the users, Nigeria is yet to tap from the huge economic benefits.

They called onw federal government to partner the private sector in establishing  a comprehensive legal framework to ensure data and cyber  security and optimal use of cloud computing in the country. The framework, when established, they said would address issues on privacy laws, as multitudes of laws and guidelines  presently as it constitutes have no statutory framework to sanction unlawful interception in data protection.

The Director General of  the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NIALS Adedeji Adekunle, while making presenting an abridged portion of the report, said the study was focused on two major areas of SMEs and education sectors, with a view to finding ways of promoting the usage.

With an increased adoption of cloud computing, Adekunle said users would optimize server utilization; experience dynamic scalability; infrastructure flexibility; cost savings; improve productivity; adoption of real need; and adaptation to real needs among others.

He also identified   copy right;   liability; lack of dedicated privacy law; gaps and disconnects in the current legal framework; lack of adequate awareness; cloud data ownership; data governance; liability for illegal data; compliance issue and service legal agreement as some of the legal challenges militating against the adopting of cloud computing in Nigeria.

According to him, the objective of the study was to identify the existing policy and regulatory frameworks guiding cloud computing in the country.

From the findings, he said the private sector was found to be investing more in software as a  service than the public sector. It was found that companies that adopted cloud computing were those that have stayed more than five years in Nigeria.

On the level of awareness of cloud computing, it was revealed that it is still on the average while on deployment, it indicated that the SMEs had done better than the education institutions.