Interoperability

Interoperability is a basic requirement for cloud services, fostering fair competition and integrating components, so that an ongoing innovation process is possible. But interoperability demands common technical and legal parameters, which are related to open standards and governance, whether at the technical, service delivery or business level.

What does interoperability cloud mean?

A truly interoperable cloud will encourage potential cloud customers to on-board, safe in the knowledge that they can change providers, or use multiple providers, without significant technical challenges or effort. This will expand the size of markets in which cloud providers operate. Additionally, if standards are suitably defined, the unique selling propositions of cloud providers can all be exposed. Interoperability is a significant challenge in cloud computing, but if addressed appropriately will offer new business opportunities for cloud customers and providers alike (Cloud Standards Coordination Final Report).

Benefits of interoperability for SMEs:

  • Avoid vendor lock-in
  • Ensure broader choice of service offers
  • Enhance fungibility and flexibility

This page provides several examples of how interoperability is supporting cloud adoption.

@CnectCloud projects publish Position Papers for Cloudscape Brazil 2015

Tuesday, 1 December, 2015 - 12:45

Brazil and Europe have a long-standing, international relationship, including joint investments in IT through coordinated calls. Cloudscape Brazil 2015, 1-2 December 2015, celebrates some of the success stories to date, sharing insights on co-operation results tackling social challenges leveraging an EU-Brazil federated cloud infrastructure. 

EGI Federated Cloud enabled through the use of open standards

The EGI Federated Cloud is a production service that offers a seamless grid of academic private clouds and virtualised resources built around open standards and focusing on the requirements of the scientific community. The result is a new type of research e-infrastructure based on the mature federated operations services that make EGI a reliable resource for science. When using EGI Federated Cloud resources, researchers and research communities can count on:
  • Total control over deployed applications
  • Elastic resource consumption based on real needs

Standards for Interoperability

A truly interoperable cloud will encourage potential cloud customers to on-board, safe in the knowledge that they can change providers, or use multiple providers, without significant technical challenges or effort. This will expand the size of markets in which cloud providers operate. Additionally, if standards are suitably defined, the unique selling propositions of cloud providers can all be exposed.

Careless choice of cloud provider adds big costs later - New ECIS Report

Friday, 14 November, 2014 - 16:15

From the European Committee for Interoperability - Government and businesses should act with care in choosing a cloud provider or may face big switching costs, according to a report that was being released on Thursday by the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS). The report, “Ensuring a thriving cloud market: Why interoperability matters for business and government”, describes common pitfalls for businesses and governments trying to purchase cloud services, and suggests strategies to counteract potentially costly problems.

NIST's Cloud Computing Roadmap Details Research Requirements and Action Plans

Wednesday, 29 October, 2014 - 18:15

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the final version of the US Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, Volumes I and II. The roadmap focuses on strategic and tactical objectives to support the federal government’s accelerated adoption of cloud computing. This final document reflects the input from more than 200 comments on the initial draft received from around the world.