What is class 63.10, computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and related activities?

Class 63.10 covers computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and related activities. It was created as the single class in the new group 63.1 in NACE Rev. 2.1, as paragraph 171 states. Its explanatory note lists a wide range of inclusions and exclusions. The class is statistical only, and it does not determine a code for a specific reader.

What does the note include?

The note includes provision of computing infrastructure, including cloud infrastructure and platform provision, described as infrastructure as a service and platform as a service; cloud computing, except software publishing and computer systems design, whether or not in combination with infrastructure provision; provision of technical infrastructure related to streaming services, data processing services and related activities, including complete processing of data supplied by clients, generation of specialised reports from data supplied by clients, and blockchain and distributed ledger technology data processing activities; specialised hosting activities, including web hosting and application hosting; general time share provision of mainframe facilities to clients; digitalisation of files for further processing of data; provision of data entry services; data centre colocation activities, meaning rental of server and networking space in data centres, including routine monitoring of servers; digital data storage; and issuing of crypto assets without a corresponding liability, not by a monetary authority. The list is taken from the note as the manual prints it, and it is long because the class gathers the infrastructure and processing work that the old division 63 held in several classes.

The inclusion list has a common feature: the work provides infrastructure, processing or hosting for others, rather than producing content or designing a system for a specific user. Cloud infrastructure provision, hosting, data processing and colocation all share that character. The exception inside the cloud computing inclusion, except software publishing and computer systems design, states the boundary with the two neighbouring kinds of work at the point where the inclusion is stated, and the exclusions below state the boundary again, class by class. The note must be read in full, because the inclusion list alone would overstate the class, and the exclusion list alone would understate it.

What does the note exclude?

The note excludes software publishing to group 58.2; provision of applications by downloads or by streaming to group 58.2; postproduction services to convert video content into streaming formats to class 59.12; postproduction services to convert audio content into streaming formats to class 59.20; audio streaming and download distribution service activities not associated with publishing to class 60.10; video streaming and download distribution service activities not associated with publishing to class 60.20; computer systems design to class 62.20; electronic storage of archival material for access by the general public to class 91.12; repair and maintenance of computers and communication equipment to class 95.10; and activities where the service provider uses computers only as a tool, which are classified according to the nature of the services rendered. The list is taken from the note as the manual prints it.

The exclusions divide into three kinds. The first kind is content and publishing work, to Section J. The second kind is service design and archival work, to division 62 and division 91. The third kind is a general rule, for work where computers are only a tool, which points the reader to the nature of the service itself. The general rule is the most important exclusion for reading the class, because it prevents the class from becoming a container for every activity that uses a computer. The infrastructure must be the service, not merely the tool, for the work to sit in class 63.10 in general terms.

How is the class placed in the hierarchy?

| Level | Identifier | Title |

|---|---|---|

| Section | K | Telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information service activities |

| Division | 63 | Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and related activities, with web search portals and other information services |

| Group | 63.1 | Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and related activities |

| Class | 63.10 | Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and related activities |

The table follows the detailed structure, with the division title stated in summary form to show both groups in the division. The group and class titles are the same, because the group contains only that class. The table states the place of the class. The note states its content, and the correspondence table states how the old division 63 content relates to the new groups.

What does a new class not decide?

The creation of a class does not, by itself, move a unit from one class to another. Under the introductory guidelines rules, units are classified by principal activity, and their entries are held by the institute or register. A new class gives statistics a finer heading under which to count the activity, where the data allow it. A unit is not reclassified automatically by this change, and work resembling the new title does not put every such unit in the new class. Consultation in order, the note for the class, the correspondence table, and the holder of the record, comes before the new class is quoted for any purpose.

Where is a new class confirmed?

Three checks make a confirmation: the note, the table, and the holder of the record. The note states what the new class contains. The table states where its content came from in the old structure. The entry held for a specific unit is stated by the institute or register. No step replaces another.

Read the long inclusion list with the long exclusion list beside it, apply the computers as a tool rule, and confirm the entry with the institute or register that holds it.