Dedicated to the belief that the cloud should be open

open cloud manifesto

Introduction

The buzz around cloud computing has reached a fever pitch. Some believe it is a

disruptive trend representing the next stage in the evolution of the Internet. Others

believe it is hype, as it uses long established computing technologies. As with any

new trend in the IT world, organizations must figure out the benefits and risks of

cloud computing and the best way to use this technology.

One thing is clear: The industry needs an objective, straightforward conversation

about how this new computing paradigm will impact organizations, how it can be

used with existing technologies, and the potential pitfalls of proprietary

technologies that can lead to lock-in and limited choice.

This document is intended to initiate a conversation that will bring together the

emerging cloud computing community (both cloud users and cloud providers)

around a core set of principles. We believe that these core principles are rooted in

the belief that cloud computing should be as open as all other IT technologies.

This document does not intend to define a final taxonomy of cloud computing or

to charter a new standards effort. Nor does it try to be an exhaustive thesis on

cloud architecture and design. Rather, this document is intended for CIOs,

governments, IT users and business leaders who intend to use cloud computing

and to establish a set of core principles for cloud providers. Cloud computing is

still in its early stages, with much to learn and more experimentation to come.

However, the time is right for the members of the emerging cloud computing