Cloud standardization leads to interoperability

There are a variety of reasons why cloud computing should become standardized. As it stands right now, many companies providing the service are stuck as separate entities, and this disallows interoperability and makes it difficult for data to be freely exchanged back and forth between competing cloud providers.

According to Government Computing News, further steps toward the creation of uniform cloud environment were recently taken by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The organization revealed the creation of a advisory board, called the the NIST Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap Working Group, which will ultimately produce a standards document that will regulate the use of the cloud by government agencies.

The NIST group hopes to strike an effective balance between security, portability and interoperability in government clouds, according to the news source. The plans for achieving this desired equilibrium will be further explained by the organization's Cloud Computing Roadmap, which will incorporate the findings of the Working Group.

The standardization of cloud computing architecture is not just a federal priority. According to IT Pro Portal, the computer industry and ecommerce should also implement cloud standards to enhance the interoperability of virtualized hosting.