Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

As discussed in a post from last month, annual spending worldwide on cloud services continues to rise with an expected increase up to $332 billion by the end of 2021, which is an increase from $270 billion in 2020. While the private sector is marching forward with increased reliance on hosted services, US government organizations have followed suit by increasing spending in cloud-based solutions allowing them to capitalize on the cost-savings and innovation gained by SaaS offerings.

The European Cloud User Coalition (ECUC) published a paper (the Position Paper) on May 17 recommending, among other matters, the adoption of “model clauses” for the long-term compliant use of cloud technologies.

There are often misconceptions in connection with negotiating intellectual property (IP) development agreements with developers located in Russia. This post details five common misconceptions and provides tips for complying with applicable laws in connection with such agreements.

In a recently published article on TechRadar, Morgan Lewis partner Mike Pierides and associate Charlotte Roxon consider both the UK government’s plans to publish a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the EU Commission’s proposed EU-wide artificial intelligence legislative framework, and any potential alignment between the two.

Read the full article >>

As discussed in a post from earlier this week, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order on May 12, 2021 to improve the nation’s cybersecurity. The White House has put its proverbial money where its mouth is by proposing a $58.4 billion information technology spending plan that includes $9.8 billion specifically earmarked for civilian government cybersecurity measures as well as an expedited push towards SaaS and cloud services solutions.

Technology May-rathon series of more than 40 webinars focusing on current technology issues, trends, and developments is still going strong into the month of June, with programs addressing digital assets, tax trends, artificial intelligence (AI) and data privacy, and more.

As many of our readers are aware, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order on May 12 to improve the nation’s cybersecurity. While much of the executive order focuses on strengthening the federal government’s networks from cybersecurity threats, “[t]he private sector must adapt to the continuously changing threat environment, ensure its products are built and operate securely, and partner with the Federal Government to foster a more secure cyberspace.”

Draft law “On Activities of Foreign Companies in the Internet in the Territory of the Russian Federation,” introduced to the State Duma, a lower chamber of the Russian parliament, on May 21, 2021, aims to extend Russian jurisdiction to certain non-Russian internet businesses by requiring them to open local offices in Russia and to comply with orders of Roskomnadzor, a Russian internet and data privacy regulator. Failure to do so may result in restrictive measures limiting ability to work with Russian users and businesses.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on May 10 published final guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers (ESMA Guidelines) to help firms and competent authorities identify, address, and monitor the risks and challenges arising from cloud outsourcing arrangements. Subject to a few clarifications, the ESMA Guidelines are broadly consistent with the draft guidelines.

Annual spending worldwide on cloud services is expected to increase by 23% in 2021, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, which cites a forecast by IT research and consulting firm Gartner Inc. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have shifted to cloud-based services to support remote work, but businesses are also using the shift in attitudes toward cloud services to move more complex IT needs to the cloud. The article reasons that the push to use cloud services may also be due to the hybrid workplace model that many businesses are adopting, where workers can work both in the office and from home. This model requires that remote workers have access to critical software and infrastructure.