IT products and services set for regulation by 2015

Gartner has advised that IT products and services will be regulated by 2015, due to factors such as the growth and scale of criminal hacking networks, and the impact of social networks on personal privacy.

It said businesses should prepare now for the effect the regulation will have on their processes and procedures.

"Three years ago Gartner published research predicting that either catastrophe from IT failure, or a continuing history of lower-level failures would provoke either a governmental regulation or industry self-regulation of IT products and services in the US by 2015 and in the European Union by 2015 to 2018," said Richard Hunter, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

"Although the exact date of arrival for regulation is difficult to predict, we believe that, in recent months, the tempo and intensity of the indications of such an event have increased."

Hunter said software vendors need to be aware that the increased liability they will face from the new regulation will drive generic software out of the market. Hunter advised vendors to be more transparent in the price differentiation based on quality and fitness for purpose.

Meanwhile he said IT service providers should do the same and mitigate risks by incorporating strong documentation, audit right provisions and legal compliance terminology into outsourcing deals.