Open Data Center Alliance Unveils New Usage Models

By Patrick Lambert, TMCnet Contributing Writer

With the cloud becoming so important to all online businesses, and new services being offered for almost every facet of the corporate world, it's still a very early time and there aren't a lot of rules or standards that cloud solution providers can follow to ensure a maximum of security or efficiency. This is what the Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA) proposed back in the summer of 2011 through several usage models for its members to adopt, and it now has announced five new models as well as their latest conference, Forecast 2012, scheduled to be held on June 12.

The alliance originally published the usage models in June of 2011, providing eight different ways that its members could improve their own cloud solutions, focusing on security, efficiency and interoperability, along with more solutions later on. Now the new models provide new guidelines for IT pros to design their cloud solutions with even more pressing needs in mind. These usage models include security monitoring, security provider assurance, IO control, VM interoperability, and carbon footprint. The descriptions for those new features are available on the ODCA site and will be covered at the June conference.

According to Curt Aubley, president of the alliance, "The Open Data Center Alliance was formed to help our members deploy cloud with the most innovative technologies addressing the most urgent requirements for enterprise IT." The Forecast 2012 conference will also benefit members of the alliance, as well as industry groups and IT professionals. Some of the benefits that the press release promotes include the ability to engage with ODCA leaders, network with industry leaders from around the world, learn about ODCA's performance tools, and hear from the IT architects from some of the largest firms out there.

The Open Data Center Alliance is an independent group of global IT leaders who provide long term solutions for data center requirements. The alliance is aimed by 12 steering committee members from some of the largest companies in the industry including BMW, Capgemini, China Life, China Unicom, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Lockheed Martin (News - Alert), Marriott International, Inc., National Australia Bank, Terremark, Disney Technology Solutions and Services, and UBS.