Hyve Managed Hosting has announced it is the first UK-based company to become a member of Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE).

The association for cloud infrastructure service providers in Europe, CISPE includes members from a range of companies from global hyperscalers to specialist SMEs. It lobbies at EU and national government levels on issues such as fair licensing, data protection, and public procurement of cloud infrastructure services.

CISPE has currently lodged a sector-complaint with the European Commission against the licensing practices of Microsoft, and has just contributed to an Ofcom report on the UK cloud services market which puts hyperscalers under the microscope.

“Cloud has the power to democratise IT, helping companies digitise operations, enhance security and compliance, and improve agility,” said Jake Madders, Co-founder and Director of Hyve Managed Hosting.

“Elements of public cloud infrastructure that create vendor lock in, such as restrictions on collaboration between different platforms, and difficulty of switching between providers, are affecting competition and stifling innovation. Everyone at Hyve is looking forward to working closely with CISPE on its central initiatives to make sure the industry is a level playing field and cloud can continue to fulfill its role in empowering innovation both in the UK and globally.”

Francisco Mingorance, Secretary General of CISPE, added,“Ensuring fair and competitive markets for cloud infrastructure services has never been more important. As businesses of all sizes across all sectors, as well as public sector organisations, digitalise, it is essential that they are free to choose the software, services and infrastructures they want and need. We are very pleased to have Hyve add its expertise, insight and support at this critical time.”