Customs in the cloud, a personal reflection on the 2011 WCO IT Conference

Customs administrations and the IT industry gathered in Seattle from 11 to 13 May 2011 for the 10th WCO IT Conference & Exhibition to discuss developments around Cloud Computing and how this new technology could help Customs and border security agencies to accomplish their mission of facilitating and securing legitimate international trade with higher effi ciency. Th e opening statements covered the full spectrum of issues explored during the event. Kunio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of the WCO, mentioned that borders divide but Customs connects. He regarded Cloud Computing as a means to facilitate Customs connectivity. Th e Deputy Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, David Aguilar, in turn emphasized the role of IT as a critical backbone of a country and, as such, ICT and Cloud Computing had to respond to the need to protect the sovereignty, privacy and confi dentiality of information.