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ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 38 Cloud computing and distributed platforms Plenary Highlights

On March 21st, the virtual JTC 1/SC 38 Plenary opened with a warm welcome and greetings by Brazil representatives Nelson Al Assal Filho and José Sebastião Viel. They presented their views on digital transformation, cloud computing, and the changing world. The newly appointed Anish Karmarkar chaired his first SC 38 Plenary as the official Chair of SC 38. Mr. Karmarkar was efficient ensuring that the plenary was kept on time and on point.

The plenary contained a full agenda, with three main topics under consideration:

  1. Chair’s contribution on how to better serve the SC 38 community, while growing stakeholder engagement in the industry,
  2. SC 38 Standing Document on the processes of SC 38 Advisory Group 5 (SC 38/AG 5), the preferred method of introducing new topics and projects in SC 38, and
  3. SC 38 Standing Document on the maintenance of the ISO/IEC 22123 series (cloud computing vocabulary, concepts, and reference architecture).

The highlights and outcomes of the plenary includes the re-establishment of SC 38 Advisory Group 1 (SC 38/AG 1) with an updated Terms of Reference dealing with stakeholder engagement and the approval of 2 new SC 38 Standing Documents. 

This Advisory Group for Stakeholder Engagement (SC 38/AG 1) will look at creating educational material and organizing workshops with the goal to educate the industry on the work of SC 38, gathering information from SC 38 Stakeholders on the needs of the industry and growing participation in SC 38.

The first standing document approved during this plenary provides an overview of how SC 38/AG 5 will identify, review, and socialize topics for consideration in the long-term strategy for SC 38 including items to be recommended as new items of work.

The ISO/IEC 22123 series documents are focused on foundational elements of cloud computing (vocabulary, concepts, and reference architecture). The contents of these documents should represent the current state of cloud computing and address consistency of standards across various materials. The area of cloud computing is continuing to advance at a rapid pace, which means that the normal ISO revision cycle of 5 years is not ideal for these projects. As such, SC 38 needs to proactively manage the revisions of these projects. The second standing document approved during this plenary outlines the details and issues associated with how ISO/IEC 22123 series can be evolved and maintained.

In addition, SC 38 approved the progression of CD 22123-2 Information technology – Cloud computing – Part 2: Concepts and CD 5140 Information technology – Cloud computing – Concepts for multi-cloud and other interoperation of multiple cloud services for Draft International Standards (DIS) ballot. SC 38 is looking to expand its program of work by submitting the Preliminary Work Item on Platform capabilities type and platform as a service (PaaS) for a New Proposal (NP) ballot.  

This proposed new work item looks to provide definition and descriptions of concepts for platform capabilities type, specific cloud service category, common platform architectures, and development approaches of Platforms as a Service (PaaS).

SC 38 closed the plenary with its appreciation to its virtual host and to all the attendees and participants as the work produced by SC 38 is all due to its leaders and participants alike.

Next plenary is planned to take place between October 3rd-7th, 2022 in Sapporo, Japan and will be held as a hybrid meeting (a mix of attendees that are present physically and virtually).

The INCITS Technical Committee on Cloud Computing serves as the U.S. TAG to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38, Cloud Computing and Distributed Platforms. The TC covers standardization in the areas of Cloud Computing and Distributed Platforms including:

  • Foundational concepts and technologies,
  • Operational issues, and
  • Interactions among Cloud Computing systems and with other distributed systems.

INCITS/Cloud Computing is the focal point for systems integration on Cloud Computing, Distributed Platforms, and the application of these technologies.

Interested in becoming a participant and a member? Find out more about membership in the INCITS Technical Committee on Cloud Computing here.

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About INCITS: INCITS – the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards – is the central U.S. forum dedicated to creating technology standards for the next generation of innovation.  INCITS members combine their expertise to create the building blocks for globally transformative technologies. From cloud computing to communications, from transportation to health care technologies, INCITS is the place where innovation begins. INCITS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is affiliated with ITI. Visit www.incits.org to learn more.