Open Group announces new cloud standards

The Open Group, a consortium focused on standards and interoperability for enterprises, has announced a set of  industry standards for the adoption of SOA and cloud computing.

The standards include Open Group Service Integration Maturity Model (OSIMM) and SOA Governance Framework.

"These are two very different standards that are both important for the deployment of SOA within large organizations," said Chris Harding, forum director for SOA and semantic interoperability at The Open Group, in a statement. "Enterprises use OSIMM when considering adopting SOA, to help them determine what level of SOA is appropriate to their needs and capabilities. They use the SOA Governance Framework once they have adopted SOA to help them determine how to organize themselves to use it to their best advantage. Together, the standards enable enterprises to accelerate SOA deployment and generate direct business value much sooner."

SOA Governance Framework, developed by The Open Group SOA Work Group, is a free guide for organisations to apply governance standards to accelerate the success rates of SOA, Open Group said. OSIMM offers a maturity model for advancing the adoption of SOA and cloud computing within and across businesses, Open Group said.

IBM is endorsing both SOA Governance Framework and OSIMM.

"[SOA Governance Framework] provides guidance and methods to oversee the planning, building and managing of SOA solutions," said Karla Norsworthy, vice president of software standards at IBM, in a statement released by Open Group.

"OSIMM sets the foundation for an iterative, roadmap-based approach to deploying services aligned with organisational objectives," said Kerrie Holley, IBM fellow and worldwide chief technology officer at the IBM SOA Center of Excellence.