Speaking Notes
Let’s explore an opportunity for an Irish ‘cloud services’ free trade zone
Patrick McNutt
As the theme of the Midland Think Tank shows, there
is no doubt that the greatest technology advance since
the 1980s digital revolution has been the Internet. It is
part of our daily lives. Not only is it the screen in front
of us but also the back infrastructure of wires and
machines. A digital future of great speed and
incredible access to real time data is promised.
If you would like a copy of the
presentation
please
go
to
www.patrickmcnutt.com - click on
Contact Me, provide an email address
and we will email a copy of the slides
to you. Follow @tuncnunc.
There is an exponential growth in data and a reliance
on data. Individuals are outsourcing memory to smart
devices such as smartphones and tablets; we are reliant on pre-authorised smartcards, buying tools
and Apps to support basic queries and purchases. SEPA when rolled out will smooth electronic
transactions. Companies are migrating from in-house IT to outsourcing data storage. Security is
paramount and our reliance on the data-keepers is dependent on trust and on transparency in the
use of our personal data.
Competing with data patterns…..
Small start-ups and innovative companies struggle with what to do with data. Already we know that
when big corporations get to the point where the volume is overwhelming, they turn to data
analytics to gain insight into the patterns. But when you are a small Irish based company focused on
achieving sufficient sales to reach an acceptable profit margin do you think about the information
and purchasing patterns contained in your data? You should. The purchasing patterns of your
customers are critical.
Competing in order to sell more than your competitor now requires the collection and analysis of
consumer data from social media, websites clicks and apps downloads. When a satisfied customer
tweets, for example, about your restaurant and friends begin to Google your restaurant, the search
results will link to your AdWord account and send more website traffic and potential new customers
to your restaurant. One satisfied customer ‘tweets and clicks’ and directs potential customers to
your restaurant. But the ‘1=MANY’ conversion will only happen if your restaurant is on social media.
Pto /1 of 2
Page 2/2
Behind it all is information and data. Computers and the Internet aid big data by lowering costs of
collecting and storing, processing and sharing information. Today, information as never before in our
history has an inherent high ‘tradable’ value - it facilitates the discovery of patterns. We trust the
providers and processors and distributors of the data, they retrieve our personal data and they can
and do use it. We have become1 datified: Google’s augmented-reality glasses datafy our gaze,
Twitter datifies our thoughts and LinkedIN and Facebook datafy our professional and personal
networks.
Cloud Free Zone in Ireland….
The Cloud is a resource tool. Information is becoming a tradable commodity. Who owns2 the
information? Google believes that the information it is harvesting is its own by virtue of the
harvesting. The EU Commission in their definition of ‘personal data’ in the Internet era are debating
the traditional rules of data protection viz 2014 General Data Protection Regulation. The
Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, commented3 recently that ‘personal data is the currency
of the digital economy’ and that by 2020 it will account for 8% of EU-27 GDP. A cloud services free
trade zone is worthy of consideration.
How can we use this to our advantage? With so many start-ups and legacy IT companies in Ireland,
there may be an opportunity to bring them all together under one umbrella – a cloud services free
trade zone, providing storage solutions, security and surveillance capabilities. The cloud zone could
be designed as a ‘special
services’ zone similar to the
New Book by Patrick McNutt [2014] Decoding Strategy:
Shannon FTZ. All IT companies
Patterns & Predictions
registered would enjoy a 3 -5
year sunset clause of special
Publisher’s link:
tax incentives for employing IT
staff. Information would be
http://www.mheducation.asia/html/9781259071065.html
stored and processed into
data patterns in the cloud
zone. It is only when the data
is traded does it become subject to Irish value-added tax or custom duties. The organisation of a
cloud free trade zone, subject to legal, regulatory and environmental issues, could be established
under a variant of the 2009 Alternative Site Framework ASF, re-organising the Shannon FTZ into an
alternative site framework in cloud services spread across ‘magnet sites’ from Mullingar to the
Inishowen Peninsula. In this the 50th anniversary of Shannon it could be part of planning for the next
fifty years of economic growth in Ireland.
1
Cukier, K and V. Mayer-Schoenberger: ‘The Rise of Big Data’ Foreign Affairs May/June 2013.
More discussion Chapter 12 in McNutt, P: [2010] Political Economy of Law, Elgar Publishing, UK.
3
Read Rebecca Lowe ‘Me, myself and i’ IBA Global Insight October/November 2013.
2