Competition & Cloud Services: F Bonfiglio (Dynamo, ex CEO of Gaia-X) O Aviv (Entero) E Pol (MyData)

Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO and co-founder Dynamo | The European Cloud Alternative, ex CEO of Gaia-X
Oshrit Aviv, Technologist Lawyer | Founder @ entero.io
Eric Pol, Chairman, MyData Global
Cloud services are among the most important, indeed existential, digital markets – and yet they are quite different, autonomous in comparison with other DMA core platform services. To understand better the very mechanic of cloud services, their role in digital society – and then to discuss competition-related matters associate with this core platform services – we’ve invited three top experts in this field – all three are practitioners with rich experience in this area: Eric Pol, Chairman, MyData Global, Oshrit Aviv, Technologist Lawyer | Founder @ entero.io and Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO and co-founder Dynamo | The European Cloud Alternative, ex CEO of Gaia-X
It was a very informative conversation, shading light on various technical and commercial aspects of cloud computing markets.
We’ve covered the following issues:
• For all top cloud providers it is not the main business. Why?
• Cloud as a de-materialisation of infrastructure (hardware infrastructure at the beginning)
• Cloud and cybersecurity
• Is it the case that the entry costs into this business are getting higher and higher? Are cloud services entrenched?
• Which jurisdiction is the main patent holder?
• Bundling/standard integration, free training and certification programmes (well, and of course delivering top quality) as the main way to lock in your customers
• Replicability of business model of the current top three cloud providers
• Should Europe do it? Should it do it differently?
• Situation in other jurisdictions (including state-controlled)
• Is EU engaged in hyper-regulation?
• Are Big Three the only companies which are able to comply with the regulatory labyrinth?
• Should (and if yes how) Europe invest in its own cloud?
• Is public procurement the area to begin with?
• Are EU companies missing the scale and what to do about it?
• Is venture capital a solution?
• The idea of federated cloud: the essence, the ways to achieve it, is it the way to do it for the EU?
• Do we need big European champion in cloud?
• Why is the share of EU cloud businesses shrinking? Is it reversible?
• The idea of European utility platform
• Recommendations to students

----------------------
In previous 75th episode (published last Tuesday) Kai Zenner (European Parliament) presented his views on EU Digital Laws: Mechanics, Substance and Coherence of Legislation. Video:    • Kai Zenner, European Parliament – EU ...  
The next 77th episode will be published next Tuesday featuring an interview with Gönenç Gürkaynak on his new book “Innovation Paradox in Merger Control” (Concurrences, Nov 2023).

The Digital Markets Research Hub is an independent academic initiative aiming at scrutinising the functioning of competition/regulation in digital markets. We host one-to-one interviews with leading policymakers, regulators and practitioners. We also organise online mini-workshops inviting high-profile experts and academics in various fields of digital competition law & policy to discuss the most vibrant issues of the ongoing regulatory reforms in digital markets. While having our clear normative stand on the matters discussed within the hub, we value different views and invite relevant stakeholders and thinkers representing the whole spectrum of reasonable positions on how to regulate competition in digital markets. All our materials are available at YouTube channel, which you are very welcome to subscribe to. This panel is organised & conducted by Prof. Oles Andriychuk, School of Law, University of Exeter.