These standards were developed as a collaborative project between JTC 1 - ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1, Information Technology - and ITU-T - the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardization Sector.
Cloud computing is recognized by governments and private-sector organizations as major, game-changing technology. Over 30 countries participated in JTC 1 Subcommittee (SC) 38 to develop these two cloud computing standards. The Overview and Vocabulary standard provides definitions of common cloud computing terms including those for cloud service categories such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), as well as for cloud deployment models such as public cloud, and private cloud. The Reference Architecture standard includes diagrams and descriptions of how the various aspects of cloud computing relate to one another.
"Cloud computing is a shift in the paradigm for providing IT capabilities to users that may impact a great deal of future IT products, systems, and services," said Dr. Donald Deutsch, chair of ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 38. "These first international cloud computing standards provide a sound foundation for follow-on standards as needs become more clear in this area."
According to Karen Higginbottom, JTC 1 chair, "These International Standards for cloud computing will enable better communication between vendors and customers and will provide a basis for emerging and future cloud computing standards."
These two cloud computing International Standards will serve as the basis for three new projects in JTC 1 SC 38:
JTC 1 SC 27, which focuses on security, also has several projects that build upon the fundamentals laid by the two new standards.
The U.S. plays a leading role in JTC 1, with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) holding the secretariat and Karen Higginbottom, director of standards initiatives at Hewlett-Packard, serving as JTC 1's chair. Dr. Donald Deutsch, vice president, standards strategy and architecture for Oracle, chairs JTC 1 SC 38, the subcommittee responsible for the development of these two new International Standards. The ANSI-Accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to JTC 1 SC 38 is administered by INCITS, the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards, with Steve Holbrook of IBM serving as chair of the U.S. TAG.
About JTC 1
The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1, Information technology, of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), is a consensus-based, globally relevant, voluntary international standards group. More than 2,000 experts from 163 countries come together to develop mutually beneficial guidelines that enhance global trade while protecting intellectual property.