Working Groups
The ACCA is a think tank producing research, advocacy and thought leadership on cloud computing in Asia. The actual output is developed by different working groups through industry-wide collaboration and by subject-matter experts. Members make up the core, contributing to the initiatives by debating and solidifying content via phone conferences, collaborative websites, and meeting in person. Current working groups and their mandates are:
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PUBLIC POLICY & REGULATORY WORKING GROUPMANDATEDevelop and execute a plan to ensure that the interests of the cloud computing association are effectively represented in the public policy debate and community OBJECTIVEIn the nascent Cloud Computing market, it is critical for national public policy makers to understand the benefits of this new IT delivery model and how it can make their country more competitive. Cloud Computing offers significant opportunities for local industries, it attracts investments and overseas businesses and it provides considerable significant boost to their e-government initiatives. Countries with the most insightful, transparent and fair regulatory environment will be the most successful in capitalizing on this new opportunity. The public policy & Regulatory WG will facilitate a dialogue between policy makers, service providers, vendors, users and other stakeholders in Asia to produce a set of best practices, governance recommendations and policy considerations that will ensure wins for the entire value chain MEMBERSCHAIR Lim May-Ann CLOUD READINESS INDEXThe Asia Cloud Computing Association's "Cloud Readiness Index" has been designed to track the necessary infrastructure and enabling environment for cloud computing development across leading Asian economies. By mapping the conditions and criteria required for successful implementation and uptake, ACCA aims to identify potential bottlenecks that could slow adoption and threaten Asia's digital future. The Index also serves to help identify the gaps between policy, legal and commercial cloud drivers |
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DATA SOVEREIGNTY WORKING GROUP |
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SECURITY WORKING GROUPMANDATEOwn and execute a plan to develop and promote cloud friendly security governance and best practices. OBJECTIVESecurity concerns is one of the main barriers to adoption of Cloud Computing solutions by enterprises. To therefore understand and being able to provide solutions to these challenges is critical. We think this is true not only on a universal but also on a local level, and that regional market conditions and regulatory concerns need to be taken into consideration, especially in a diverse and fragmented region as Asia. Asia Cloud Security WG will provide best practices and security recommendations developed for or adapted to the realities of markets in Asia. MEMBERSCHAIR, Security Working Group - Aaron Sharp Verizon PLAN FOR 2012-13Produce a Data Sovereignty Study, a Data Sovereignty Heat Map and a Data Sovereignty Knowledge Database. The Study will describe how "friendly" data laws are for cloud adoption and cloud infrastructure in 14 Asian countries. At a high level it is presented as a regional heat map that provides cloud decision makers with an overview of where to find the most accommodating data law environments in Asia. This is available to the general public. A white paper for public consumption will also be produced. At a more detailed level it provides a knowledge database and offers legal assessments on data- related laws in these 14 countries. This information is uniquely available to ACCA members to provide them with:
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CLOUD ASSESSMENT WORKING GROUPMANDATETo identify, develop and promote a set of recommended requirements and specifications for cloud computing environments targeting business critical applications. OBJECTIVECloud computing is being used for an increasingly wide range of applications, some having demanding availability, security and performance requirements. Implementing such applications on clouds can be difficult because the operational criteria that characterize the behavior of clouds are complex and rarely well defined. The Cloud Assessment working group addresses this issue, by defining a Cloud Assessment Framework, published in the Cloud Assessment Tool (CAT). It does so by specifying operational criteria that should be well specified for such applications. Users benefit from the framework by having a pre-defined set of requirements that define their needs. Cloud providers benefit from the framework by having a standardized language to define their service offerings. When both come together, the result is that subjectivity and interpretation are eliminated in the mapping process. When the mapping is imperfect, the implication is that the onus is on the application to bridge any gaps, and this too is valuable information. MEMBERSJerry Wertelecky individual PLAN FOR 2012-13Further develop the Cloud Assessment Framework and Cloud Assessment Tool to increase its' usability and relevance to service providers and enterprise cloud users in different verticals and industries; Release Cloud Assessment Tool White Paper – June 2012 |
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SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISE WORKING GROUPMANDATEProvide thought leadership and education to governments, the vendor community and the SME's to bring cloud computing technologies to the SME market. OBJECTIVETo play a leadership role across three constituencies in bringing cloud computing technologies to the SME market – (i) government: by illuminating best practice support programmes and championing key initiatives and requirements; (ii) the vendor community: by providing better understanding of SME demand and characteristics; (iii) the SMEs themselves: by providing a resource base. MEMBERSCHAIR John Galligan Microsoft PLAN FOR 2012-13The deliverables for 2012/13 are: To map the level of demand for cloud services across the SME segment(s) of Asia Pacific economies; SME CLOUD INDEXA comparative index of Asian countries' SME size, attractiveness and readiness widescale cloud computing adoption. The index will itself be comprised of two parts – an estimated market sizing for SME cloud computing demand, and an SME 'market compatibility' assessment. SME Market Demand Sizingwould be an estimated market sizing based upon: the number of SMEs in market; awareness |
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ALLIANCES COMMITTEEWhile the ACCA is regionally focused, it is also plugged into global initiatives and sensitive to local challenges. It addresses the former by aligning with a number of global counterparts and the latter through the setup of country-level ACCA chapters. The Alliances sub-committee has two main responsibilities: (1) to collaborate with other like-minded organizations in the cloud market; (2) to manage country level ACCA chapters. |
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MARKETING COMMITTEEThe Marketing Communications committee (Marcom) facilitates communication between the ACCA and its' members and between the ACCA and stakeholders in the market. This is achieved through channels such as the web (internal and external), newsletters, media, events, roundtables, summits, videos, stakeholder campaigns, webcasts etc. On a quarterly basis, the ACCA organizes a Summit (or "RoundTable") open to members and a selection of non-members and during which thoughtful outside speakers with practical cloud experience present. These occasions are also used to present and review the ACCA Working Group plans with external stakeholders. The feedback received from members and non-members serves to ensure ACCA priorities and directions are market valuable. The ACCA also supports member organizations when they organize cloud events and conferences. The ACCA take on the role as a "sponsoring" partner, inviting other members and stakeholders and participate with speaker and panelists. Presenting at conferences |
