Commbank, Telstra join cloud alliance

Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank have joined the National Australia Bank as members of the international Open Data Centre Alliance.

The Alliance was set up to enable the world's largest IT buyers to promote standards around cloud portability, costs and operation models.

According to a spokesperson speaking on behalf of Commonwealth Bank CIO Michael Harte, the bank believes data centre assets and cloud computing services should be akin to a utility such as power or water.

“As a member of the ODCA, our motivation is in joining like-minded organisations in standardising the costs and operational models of cloud,” the spokesperson said.

“Michael Harte is on record as saying the cloud should be like a utility: you choose from a list of what services you want, it’s unit priced, and the provision of services is flexible.”

Telstra and CommBank join a range of companies including BMW, CapGemini and Deutsche Bank as members of the Alliance.

The Alliance has several tiers of membership, including basic members, contributors, solution providers and adopters.

Telstra represents a unique case, being both a provider and consumer of cloud services. Telstra's director of cloud services, Stuart Smith, described the company’s role in the ODCA as a provider of cloud services.

“Our focus is to deliver best in market solutions that help our customers grow their business. Engaging with our peers from a variety of industries will help us to continue to innovate and increase the depth and breadth of our offerings resulting in tremendous benefits to our customers,” he said.

A Telstra spokesperson clarified the organisation's membership of ODCA, telling iTnews "Telstra has joined ODCA as a 'Contributor Member' which means we will have representation on the Alliance's technical working groups. These working groups have developed and will continue to refine a range of usage models or industry standards that guide the adoption or development of cloud technologies."

Updated: This story was updated at 1350 hrs on Jan 24 to reflect the following: additional statement by Telstra representative.