MORRISTOWN, NJ, June 12 — TM Forum announced today that its Enterprise Cloud Leadership Council (ECLC), a group of major corporations focused on developing standards and best-practices for cloud services based on enterprise requirements, and the Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA), an independent IT consortium comprised of global IT leaders, are working together to develop standards for enterprise cloud services. Together the two organizations will work to reduce the cost of cloud deployment, speed time-to-market and improve service quality with an initial focus on virtual private cloud and private cloud services embedded within the public cloud.

As part of the agreement, the ODCA and the ECLC plan to work on two projects per year with the ODCA leading the definition of enterprise requirements, and the ECLC conducting proof of concept projects to evaluate how new requirements address enterprise needs. Their initial projects will define specific aspects of virtual private cloud, including the computing aspects of Infrastructure-as-a-Service such as the creation of standards-based service catalogs and standard units of measure – or ways to quantify or describe different cloud services such as speed, storage capacity, security and bandwidth.

TM Forum's Catalyst program will act as a proving ground for the jointly-developed standards and best practices. The Catalyst program allows service providers and other end-users to guide and drive collaborative projects to bring innovative, not-seen-anywhere-else ideas and solutions to life. These short-term projects culminate in live demonstrations at TM Forum's Management World events.

"Today's enterprises have to look at the complete value chain when building out their cloud programs – all the way from implementation to delivery – and addressing the demands of virtual private cloud is a top priority," said Marvin Wheeler, chairman, Open Data Center Alliance. "Leading industry bodies, like the ODCA and ECLC, have the ability to drive real world requirements through to implementation, and to deliver unique insight into both sides of the picture."

"With operating, securing and maintaining cloud services as one of the key issues facing enterprises today, the TM Forum's ECLC sees this partnership with the ODCA as an ideal opportunity to demonstrate and deliver innovative solutions for the full spectrum of enterprises' cloud computing needs," said Dr. Robert B. Cohen, Director and Interim Executive Director of the ECLC, TM Forum. "Together, we expect to advance the use of best practices and standards to improve cloud services, and create an open and vibrant marketplace for all involved."

TM Forum's ECLC is a practical, results-based body comprising some of the world's largest and powerful multi-national companies, including: Boeing, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, Dassault, Deutsche Bank, ING, Northrop-Grumman, Photronics, SWIFT, UBS and many more. The ECLC leverages the wealth of standards and best practices created and implemented by TM Forum's 900-plus members.

The ODCA is comprised of global IT leaders who have come together to provide a unified customer vision for long-term data center requirements. With over 300 global companies advocating for open data center and cloud interoperability focused on the needs and requirements of medium to large scale enterprise customers, the ODCA works toward fostering an open and interoperable solution ecosystem with diverse and differentiated implementations. For information or to join the group, visit www.opendatacenteralliance.org.

Resources:

-- To learn more about TM Forum, visit our website at www.tmforum.org.

-- To learn more about the Enterprise Cloud Leadership Council, visit the website.

-- Stay informed about TM Forum news by subscribing to TM Forum's press release RSS feed and newsletters.

About The Open Data Center Alliance

The Open Data Center Alliancea" is an independent IT consortium comprised of global IT leaders who have come together to provide a unified customer vision for long-term data center requirements. The Alliance is led by a twelve member steering committee which includes IT leaders BMW, Capgemini, China Life, China Unicom, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Inc., National Australia Bank, Terremark, Disney Technology Solutions and Services, and UBS. Intel serves as technical advisor to the Alliance.

In support of its mission, the Alliance has delivered the first customer requirements for cloud computing documented in eight Open Data Center Usage Models which identify member prioritized requirements to resolve the most pressing challenges facing cloud adoption. Find out more at www.opendatacenteralliance.org.

About TM Forum

TM Forum is a global, non-profit industry association focused on enabling service provider agility and innovation. As an established thought-leader in service creation, management and delivery, the Forum serves as a unifying force across industries, enabling more than 900 member companies to solve critical business issues through access to a wealth of knowledge, intellectual capital and standards.

The Forum provides a unique, fair and safe environment for the entire value-chain to collaborate and overcome the barriers to a vibrant, open digital economy, helping member companies of all sizes gain a competitive edge by enabling efficiency and agility in their IT and operations. For more information about TM Forum, visit www.tmforum.org.

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Source: TM Forum