April 27, 2009, 2:49 PM — The Distributed Management Task Force on Monday said it is developing an "Open Cloud Standards Incubator" to build management standards for cloud computing.
DMTF explained that its work will focus specifically on interoperability between private and public clouds via resource management protocols, packaging formats, and security mechanisms. The organization said it also intends to establish specifications for cloud service portability.
[ Related interview: Nick Carr on the many ways cloud computing will disrupt IT. | InfoWorld's whurley explains how at $200, his "MacBook Cloud" is a dream come true. | See also: "Big iron: the ultimate cloud platform?" ]
Vendors that have already joined DMTF's incubator include AMD, Cisco, Citrix, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat, Savvis, Sun Microsystems, and VMware.
Some, though not all, of those members signed the Open Could Manifesto in mid-March. Microsoft, along with Amazon.com, criticized the secret drafting of the manifesto and declined to sign the document.
Analyst house Gartner last month predicted that cloud computing spending will skyrocket in 2009 and throughout the next five years. Traditional IT services moving to the cloud will constitute a large chunk of that growth, Gartner said.
