efficient tendering procedure will also make it possible to stretch the taxpayers' money further. At the same time, a digital process can raise the visibility of relevant European tendering procedures for Danish businesses. Opportunity for cloud computing In upcoming years, there will be focus on creating more competition in the market for public IT solutions and reducing the IT operating costs of the authorities. The authorities should be allowed to exploit the entire spectrum of IT solutions, including cloud computing, and clear framework conditions should be established for this. For public authorities, improved possibilities to make use of cloud computing in relevant areas will mean that they can buy standardised and flexible IT solutions which, in turn, will allow them to scale capacity up or down as required. This can reduce queues when many citizens want to log in to a given service at the same time. For the authorities, cloud computing used in the right ways, and taking the right security measures, can therefore lead to increased technical and commercial flexibility as well as cheaper and more efficient IT solutions. WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING? Cloud computing is a business model which entails buying standardised IT products (software, hardware or services) as a service over the internet. This means customers do not have to install and maintain the IT products themselves in house. Cloud computing can contribute to economic growth by reducing the costs of procuring and operating IT systems. Furthermore, both customers and suppliers can scale IT products up or down as required. INITIATIVES BETTER FRAMEWORK FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY 4.1 4.3 AUTOMATIC BUSINESS REPORTING CLOUD COMPUTING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR The public sector should to a greater extent use automation and data reuse between authorities and businesses. A trial process will be carried out for a number of volunteer businesses in the area of financial and economic reporting to the public authorities. This process will involve automatic exchange of accounting data between the business and the authorities. This trial process will include relevant analyses as the basis for a decision on deploying automatic business reporting. The public sector should have opportunity to use cloud computing where this provides value and is appropriate from both a commercial and a security perspective. Therefore, an updated legal guideline will be prepared on the basis of the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation, describing the possibilities available for the authorities with regard to cloud computing, and which also addresses assessment and management of security risks. 4.2 DIGITAL TENDERING PROCEDURES AND PROCUREMENT According to the EU Public Procurement Directive, digital tendering procedures must be in place by October 2018, so that businesses can submit tenders digitally in open procedures. An analysis of the tendering and procurement procedure will be launched, which will identify opportunities to use standards, technical requirements and common public sector components, such as interoperability with future versions of NemID, NemLog-in, NemHandel, Virk.dk and encryption components, etc. The analysis will describe how a coherent digital tendering and procurement procedure can be completed most efficiently with a view to reducing transaction costs for the contracting authority as well as for suppliers. 36 DIGITISATION MUST PROVIDE GOOD CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH DIGITISATION MUST PROVIDE GOOD CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH 37