Cloud Standards: Agreements That Hold Together Clouds

Cloud computing is often described as providing computing resources the way electric utilities provide energy. In theory, anyone with an adequate connection to the Internet should be able to tap into a cloud provider and get exactly the computing resources they want when they want it, just like plugging into the electricity grid and getting exactly the energy you want when you want it. But to get that electricity, there are many standards: voltage, frequency, phase, motors constructed in st...