Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM and Microsoft have joined forces with the Enterprise Data Management (EDM) Council – a multi-industry trade association – to publish a data management framework for the cloud.
The resultant cloud data management capabilities (CDMC) framework was developed by more than 100 companies. It involved devising a comprehensive set of standards for cloud, multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud implementations while also incorporating automated key controls for protecting sensitive data.
As well as participation from the four leading cloud service providers, the CDMC’s development was chaired by Morgan Stanley and the London Stock Exchange Group.
The framework consists of 6 components, 14 capabilities, and 37 sub-capabilities that promise to let companies across all industries more effectively manage their cloud environments.
Rajiv Chodhari, CTO of financial services data and AI at IBM, said: “A critical next hurdle for the global financial services industry is the adoption of a standard set of best practices regarding the management of data in multi-cloud environments, particularly controls to protect data privacy and to comply with regulations.
“The EDM Council has taken an important first step in aligning the financial services industry and its partners on these issues.”
For those working in cloud-reliant industries, this has been seen as a positive step by cloud providers and good news for enterprises struggling with multi-cloud environments.
Frank Dickson, program vice president for security and trust at IDC, said: “Complexity clearly makes environments more difficult to manage and easier to leave data improperly protected.
“By creating standards, the cloud vendors are looking to address the complexity issue associated with data management and make it easier for customers to manage their multi-cloud infrastructure.”