CommBank and Telstra join global datacentre alliance

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Telstra have joined the stable of big names in the independent IT consortium Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA).

Launched in 2010, the objective of the ODCA is to bring together IT executives from enterprises around the world to build unified standards for cloud computing and datacentres. Another local player, the National Australia Bank (NAB) is already a part of the ODCA.

So far, the Alliance has published several datacentre usage models, which members are committed to using to guide their datacentre purchasing and planning decisions. Members also help develop ODCA roadmaps through various workgroups within the Alliance.

"Based on their extensive experience in delivering innovation, best-in-class services to their customers, CBA and Telstra will play a valuable role in helping the ODCA develop standard requirements for cloud computing," ODCA Executive Director Marvin Wheeler said in a statement.

CBA CIO Michael Harte said that his company is already an advocate for cloud computing to benefit customers and employees.

"That's why we are actively involved in industry organisations such as the ODCA, which help to set standards and accelerate innovation to deliver faster more efficient rich services on demand, not just for ourselves, but for broader industry interests and economic benefit."

There are currently over 300 members in the ODCA, including BMW, Disney Technology Solutions and Services, Deutsche Bank, China Unicom, and JPMorgan Chase.