The , written by Lateral Economics and sponsored by Macquarie Telecom, argues the country must move to greater industry self-regulation if the nascent local industry is to capture Cloud's significant opportunity.

"In the case of Cloud computing, industry self-regulation may be a necessary part of the overall regulatory solution," the report reads. "A legislative approach to regulation may simply be too slow and unable to continuously adapt to the rapid technological change that characterises the industry.

"Another factor in favour of industry self-regulation is that each firm has a strong incentive to build and maintain its reputation and to build a regulatory structure that promotes trust and confidence in the marketplace. In fact, imposing Cloud-specific legislation or regulations could impede the potential of Cloud computing instead of encouraging the safe and rapid growth of Cloud computing."

Despite the call for greater self-regulation, the report notes that the country's already strong regulation and high levels of government and regulatory integrity act as positives when contrasted against major Cloud suppliers such as the US.