You know it had to happen! Cloud computing is the “hot” technology area and here come the standards! However, if you’re responsible for developing contracts or fulfilling them, you’re glad of it. And the new standards I’ll review today cover the basics you need. ISO/IEC 17788, “Information technology – Cloud computing – Overview and vocabulary,” puts everyone on the same page with regards to concepts and terminology. ISO/IEC 17789, “Information technology – Cloud computing – Reference architecture,” shows you how the functional layers are structured. We’ll cover ISO/IEC 17788 and ISO/IEC 17789 separately.
ISO/IEC 17788 (also published as ITU-T-Y.3500) was developed by JTC1’s subcommittee on distributed application platforms and services. The first half of the document provides you with a list of definitions for 44 terms, as well as other acronyms (FYI: some definitions are taken from other standards). Then the balance of the standard gives you a review of what cloud computing is, the key characteristics, various roles and activities, and cloud service types. OK, I thought we’re primarily talking about SaaS (Software as a Service). But, hey, there’s all sorts of things that can be put on the cloud! I may be in trouble since Management as a Service is also included (I think that’s my job…)
ISO/IEC 17789 also has been published as an ITU document (ITU-T-Y.3502). There is a brief definitions section followed by Clause 5 on conventions. Next, cloud computing reference architecture goals and objectives are covered. Then the standard dives into the heart of the matter, providing you with detailed descriptions and charts to model the user view and the corresponding functional view. Discussion in Clauses 7 through 10 covers various activities, relationships, and so on.
Annex A delves further into these two views with sections on the relationships between:
- Customer and service provider
- Provider and provider (aka “inter-cloud”)
- Cloud service developer and cloud service provider and
- Cloud service provider and auditor
A short bibliography of 6 additional standards for further review rounds out this publication.
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