One of the aspects I enjoy most about the Open Data Center Alliance is how it enables "buy" and "sell" side players to come together for open conversations on how to collectively shape the cloud moving forward. Because of how the Alliance members collectively established customer requirements as a priority, the ODCA is committed to ensuring that cloud solutions as well as their corresponding deployment plans are well matched to those requirements. Given how enterprise IT managers are working hand in hand with cloud service providers and industry solutions providers to prioritize how solutions are delivered to the market, the ODCA has a pretty impressive charter. The charter is even more compelling when you consider how the ODCA is fundamentally committed to industry standards and the delivery of interoperable solutions.

With the Alliance recently publishing RFP verbiage in line with five of their usage model requirements, we are seeing the beginnings of enterprises testing solutions through proofs of concept on their way to mainstream, production deployments later this year. This is a very exciting time for the ODCA and cloud, and it's why I'd encourage you to attend the upcoming ODCA Forecast 2012 event being held on June 12th in New York City at Cloud Expo. Featuring participation from leading cloud experts including Curt Aubley, VP of Cyber Security for Lockheed Martin, Andrew Stokes, Chief Infrastructure Architect at Deutsche Bank, and Petteri Uljas, CEO of Cap Gemini Finland, the event will bring together the best of ODCA - voices from across the technology spectrum on how the future of cloud computing is shaping in 2012. To register for Forecast 2012, visit www.opendatacenteralliance.org.

To learn more about ODCA and its impact on the delivery of cloud solutions, comment below or become a member of the Alliance.

Marvin Wheeler is a former Chief Strategy Officer from Terremark and currently Chairman and Secretary of the Open Data Center Alliance.

The above insights were provided to InformationWeek by Intel Corporation as part of a sponsored content program. The information and opinions expressed in this content are those of Intel Corporation and its partners and not InformationWeek or its parent, UBM TechWeb.