Asia's first "Cloud Readiness Index," prepared and published by the Asia Cloud Computing Association, shows a mixed picture in terms of harnessing the power and economic benefits of cloud computing.

The league table, which analyses 10 key attributes critical to the successful deployment and use of cloud computing technology in 14 countries across the region, shows that Japan is in the lead, with Hong Kong second and South Korea and Singapore following close behind in joint third place.

China, and the fellow economic giant, India are in 8th and 9th place respectively – reflecting the challenges these economies must overcome in order to speed adoption and enjoy a brighter, more prosperous digital future.

"Technology has always been a great enabler of opportunity for business, communities and citizens. Cloud technologies offer the potential for lowering technology costs and creating time to market advantages. Additionally, cloud technologies promise to securely democratize data access – and in doing so, creatie a myriad of value-add possibilities across Asia," said Bernie Trudel, Chairman of the Asia Cloud Computing Association and Cloud CTO at Cisco APAC.

Per Dahlberg, founder and CEO of the Association believes that to realise this potential in Asia, the region needs to harmonise policy and regulatory frameworks to promote effective trade in digital information and services.

"Achieving that requires an active debate with an Asia focus. This is exactly what the new Cloud Readiness Index aims to stimulate," he says.

The "Cloud Readiness Index" is designed to track Asia's progress toward a complete spectrum of cloud computing-based infrastructures and services. By mapping the conditions and criteria required for successful implementation and uptake, the Association aims to identify potential bottlenecks that could slow adoption and threaten Asia's digital future.

The Index helps identify the gaps between policy, legal and commercial cloud drivers.  This is achieved by leveraging the works of other trade associations, NGOs and publicly available sources in order to provide a tool for businesses, and even policy makers to look at the cloud in a more holistic manner.

The index considers regulatory conditions; international connectivity; data protection policy; broadband quality; government prioritisation; power grid quality; Internet filtering; business efficiency index; global risk; and ICT development.