ISO/IEC 17789:2014

Information technology - Cloud computing - Reference architecture

ISO/IEC 17789:2014 specifies the cloud computing reference architecture (CCRA). The reference architecture includes the cloud computing roles, cloud computing activities, and the cloud computing functional components and their relationships.

Technologies de l'information — Informatique en nuage — Architecture de référence

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 09-Oct-2014
• ICS: 35.100.05 - Multilayer applications
• ICS: 35.210 - Cloud computing
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38 - Cloud computing and distributed platforms
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38 - Cloud computing and distributed platforms
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Start Date: 22-Sep-2023
• Completion Date: 30-Oct-2025

Relations

• Revised: ISO/IEC 22123-3:2023 - Information technology - Cloud computing - Part 3: Reference architecture
• Effective Date: 10-Dec-2022

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 17789
First edition
2014-10-15
Information technology — Cloud
computing — Reference architecture
Technologies de l'information — Informatique en nuage — Architecture
de référence
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2014
©  ISO/IEC 2014
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission.
Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO/IEC 2014 – All rights reserved

CONTENTS
Page
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references. 1
2.1 Identical Recommendations | International Standards . 1
2.2 Additional references . 1
3 Definitions . 1
3.1 Terms defined elsewhere . 1
3.2 Terms defined in this Recommendation | International Standard . 1
4 Abbreviations . 2
5 Conventions . 2
6 Cloud computing reference architecture goals and objectives. 3
7 Reference architecture concepts . 4
7.1 CCRA architectural views . 4
7.2 User view of cloud computing . 5
7.3 Functional view of cloud computing . 7
7.4 Relationship between the user view and the functional view . 8
7.5 Relationship of the user view and functional view to cross-cutting aspects. 8
7.6 Implementation view of cloud computing . 9
7.7 Deployment view of cloud computing . 9
8 User view . 9
8.1 Introduction to roles, sub-roles and cloud computing activities . 9
8.2 Cloud service customer . 10
8.3 Cloud service provider . 14
8.4 Cloud service partner . 21
8.5 Cross-cutting aspects . 23
9 Functional view . 29
9.1 Functional architecture . 29
9.2 Functional components . 30
10 Relationship between the user view and the functional view . 38
10.1 General . 38
10.2 Overview . 38
Annex A – Further details regarding the user view and functional view . 44
A.1 The cloud service customer–cloud service provider relationship . 44
A.2 The provider–peer provider (or "inter-cloud") relationship . 47
A.3 The cloud service developer–cloud service provider relationship . 50
A.4 The cloud service provider–Auditor relationship . 51
Bibliography . 53

Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 17789 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 38, Distributed application platforms and services (DAPS), in collaboration with ITU-T. The
identical text is published as ITU-T Rec. Y.3502 (08/2014).
iv © ISO/IEC 2014 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
RECOMMENDATION ITU-T
Information technology – Cloud computing – Reference architecture
1 Scope
This Recommendation | International Standard specifies the cloud computing reference architecture (CCRA). The
reference architecture includes the cloud computing roles, cloud computing activities, and the cloud computing
functional components and their relationships.
2 Normative references
The following Recommendations and International Standards contain provisions which, through reference in this text,
constitute provisions of this Recommendation | International Standard. At the time of publication, the editions indicated
were valid. All Recommendations and Standards are subject to revision, and parties to agreements based on this
Recommendation | International Standard are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the most recent edition
of the Recommendations and Standards listed below. Members of IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently valid
International Standards. The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau of the ITU maintains a list of currently valid
ITU-T Recommendations.
2.1 Identical Recommendations | International Standards
– Recommendation ITU-T Y.3500 (2014) | ISO/IEC 17788:2014, Information technology – Cloud
computing – Overview and vocabulary.
2.2 Additional references
– ISO/IEC 29100:2011, Information technology – Security techniques – Privacy framework.
3 Definitions
For the purposes of this Recommendation | International Standard, the terms and definitions in Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 |
ISO/IEC 17788 and the following definitions apply.
3.1 Terms defined elsewhere
The following term is defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:
3.1.1 architecture: Fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment embodied in its elements,
relationships and in the principles of its design and evolution.
The following term is defined in ISO/IEC 29100:
3.1.2 personally identifiable information (PII): Any information that (a) can be used to identify the PII principal
to whom such information relates, or (b) is or might be directly or indirectly linked to a PII principal.
NOTE – To determine whether a PII principal is identifiable, account should be taken of all the means which can reasonably be
used by the privacy stakeholder holding the data, or by any other party, to identify that natural person.
3.2 Terms defined in this Recommendation | International Standard
This Recommendation | International Standard defines the following terms:
3.2.1 activity: A specified pursuit or set of tasks.
3.2.2 cloud service product: A cloud service, allied to the set of business terms under which the cloud service is
offered.
NOTE – Business terms can include pricing, rating and service levels.
3.2.3 functional component: A functional building block needed to engage in an activity (clause 3.2.1), backed by
an implementation.
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 1
3.2.4 peer cloud service: A cloud service of one cloud service provider which is used as part of a cloud service of
one or more other cloud service providers.
3.2.5 peer cloud service provider: A cloud service provider who provides one or more cloud services for use by
one or more other cloud service providers as part of their cloud services.
3.2.6 product catalogue: A listing of all the cloud service products (clause 3.2.2) which cloud service providers
make available to cloud service customers.
3.2.7 role: A set of activities (clause 3.2.1) that serves a common purpose.
3.2.8 service catalogue: A listing of all the cloud services of a particular cloud service provider.
3.2.9 sub-role: A subset of the activities (clause 3.2.1) of a given role (clause 3.2.7).
4 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this Recommendation | International Standard, the following abbreviations apply:
API Application Programming Interface
CaaS Communications as a Service
CCRA Cloud Computing Reference Architecture
CPU Central Processing Unit
CS Cloud Service
CSC Cloud Service Customer
CSN Cloud Service partner
CSP Cloud Service Provider
IaaS Infrastructure as a Service
ICT Information and Communication Technology
KPI  Key Performance Indicator
MSA Master Service Agreement
NaaS Network as a Service
PaaS Platform as a Service
PII Personally Identifiable Information
QoS Quality of Service
RAM Random Access Memory
SaaS Software as a Service
SLA Service Level Agreement
ToS Terms of Service
T&C Terms and Conditions
VLAN Virtual Local Area Network
VPN Virtual Private Network
VM Virtual Machine
5 Conventions
The following conventions apply:
1) Diagrams are used throughout this Recommendation | International Standard to help illustrate the CCRA.
Figure 5-1 provides the conventions used regarding the content of the diagrams.
NOTE – In Figure 5-1, "Aspect" is to be understood as referring to "Cross-cutting aspect".
2 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)
Figure 5-1 – Legend to the diagrams used throughout
this Recommendation | International Standard

2) This CCRA uses the term "ICT" and "ICT systems", where the abbreviation ICT stands for "information
and communication technology", as defined in clause 3.1332 of ISO/IEC/IEEE 24765. This term is used
to make it clear that the CCRA covers not only the compute and storage technologies associated with
computer systems, but also the communication networks that link systems together.
3) References to terms defined in clause 3 and in Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 | ISO/IEC 17788 are shown in bold.
6 Cloud computing reference architecture goals and objectives
Cloud computing is a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual
resources with self-service provisioning and administration on demand. See Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 | ISO/IEC 17788.
The CCRA presented in this Recommendation | International Standard provides an architectural framework that is
effective for describing the cloud computing roles, sub-roles, cloud computing activities, cross-cutting aspects, as well
as the functional architecture and functional components of cloud computing.
The CCRA serves the following goals:
• to describe the community of stakeholders for cloud computing;
• to describe the fundamental characteristics of cloud computing systems;
• to specify basic cloud computing activities and functional components, and describe their relationships
to each other and to the environment;
• to identify principles guiding the design and evolution of the CCRA.
The CCRA supports the following important standardization objectives:
• to enable the production of a coherent set of international standards for cloud computing;
• to provide a technology-neutral reference point for defining standards for cloud computing;
• to encourage openness and transparency in the identification of cloud computing benefits and risks.
The CCRA focuses on the requirements of "what" cloud services provide and not on "how to" design cloud-based
solutions and implementations. The CCRA does not represent the system architecture of a specific cloud computing
system, although it could put constraints on a specific system. The CCRA is not tied to any specific vendor products,
services or reference implementation; nor does it define prescriptive solutions that inhibit innovation.
The CCRA is also intended to:
• facilitate the understanding of the operational intricacies of cloud computing;
• illustrate and provide understanding of various cloud services and their provisioning and use;
• provide a technical reference to enable the international community to understand, discuss, categorize and
compare cloud services;
• be a tool for describing, discussing, and for developing a system-specific architecture using a common
framework of reference;
• facilitate the analysis of candidate standards in areas including security, interoperability, portability,
reversibility, reliability and service management, and support analysis of reference implementations.
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 3
7 Reference architecture concepts
This Recommendation | International standard defines a CCRA that can serve as a fundamental reference point for cloud
computing standardization and which provides an overall framework for the basic concepts and principles of a cloud
computing system.
This clause provides an overview of the architectural approaches that are used in this Recommendation | International
standard.
7.1 CCRA architectural views
Cloud computing systems can be described using a viewpoint approach.
Four distinct viewpoints are used in the CCRA (see Figure 7-1):
• user view;
• functional view;
• implementation view; and
• deployment view.
Figure 7-1 – Transformations between architectural views
Table 7-1 provides a description of each of these views.
Table 7-1 – CCRA views
CCRA view Description of the CCRA view Scope
User view The system context, the parties, the roles, the sub-roles and Within scope
the cloud computing activities
Functional view The functions necessary for the support of cloud computing Within scope
activities
Implementation view The functions necessary for the implementation of a cloud Out of scope
service within service parts and/or infrastructure parts
Deployment view How the functions of a cloud service are technically Out of scope
implemented within already existing infrastructure elements or
within new elements to be introduced in this infrastructure
NOTE – While details of the user view and functional view are addressed within this Recommendation | International Standard,
the implementation and deployment views are related to technology and vendor-specific cloud computing implementations and
actual deployments, and are therefore out of the scope of this Recommendation | International Standard.
Figure 7-2 shows the transition from the user view to the functional view. Details are presented in clause 7.4.
4 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)
Party
Aspect
Multi-layer
Role
Functional
Layer
functions
component
Role
Functional
Layer
component
Sub-role Sub-role Functional
component
Functional
Layer
Activity
Activity
component
Activity
Activity
User view Functional view
Y.3502(14)_F7-2
Figure 7-2 – Transition from user view to functional view
7.2 User view of cloud computing
The user view addresses the following cloud computing concepts:
• cloud computing activities;
• roles and sub-roles;
• parties;
• cloud services;
• cloud deployment models;
• cross-cutting aspects.
Figure 7-3 illustrates the entities that are defined for the user view.
Party
Aspect
Role
Role
Sub-role Sub-role
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Y.3502(14)_F7-3
Figure 7-3 – User view entities
7.2.1 Cloud computing activities
A cloud computing activity is defined as a specified pursuit or set of tasks.
Cloud computing activities need to have a purpose and deliver one or more outcomes.
Activities in a cloud computing system are conducted using functional components (see clause 7.3.1).
Cloud computing activities are identified and described in more detail in clause 8.
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 5
7.2.2 Roles and sub-roles
A role is a set of cloud computing activities that serve a common purpose.
In the CCRA, three roles have been defined:
• cloud service customer (CSC): A party which is in a business relationship for the purpose of using cloud
services.
• cloud service provider (CSP): A party which makes cloud services available.
• cloud service partner (CSN): A party which is engaged in support of, or auxiliary to, activities of either
the cloud service provider or the cloud service customer, or both.
A sub-role is a subset of the cloud computing activities for a given role.
Different sub-roles can share the cloud computing activities associated with a given role.
Descriptions of the cloud computing roles and sub-roles are provided in clause 8.
7.2.3 Parties
A party is a natural person or legal person, whether or not incorporated, or a group of either. Parties in a cloud computing
system are its stakeholders.
A party can assume more than one role at any given point in time and can engage in a specific subset of activities of that
role. Examples of parties include, but are not limited to, large corporations, small and medium sized enterprises,
government departments, academic institutions and private citizens.
7.2.4 Cloud services
Cloud services are the essential elements of cloud computing. Cloud services are covered in Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 |
ISO/IEC 17788. This clause provides a summary.
Cloud services can be described in terms of the cloud capabilities types which they offer, based on the resources
provided by the cloud service. There are three cloud capabilities types:
• application capabilities type;
• platform capabilities type;
• infrastructure capabilities type.
Cloud capabilities types and cloud service categories are covered in Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 | ISO/IEC 17788.
Cloud services are also grouped into categories, where each category is a group of cloud services that possess a common
set of qualities. The services in these categories can include capabilities from one or more of the cloud capabilities types
above.
Representative cloud service categories include:
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS);
• Platform as a service (PaaS);
• Software as a service (SaaS);
• Network as a service (NaaS).
Other cloud service categories are described in Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 | ISO/IEC 17788.
7.2.5 Cloud deployment models
Cloud deployment models are covered in Rec. ITU-T Y.3500 | ISO/IEC 17788. This clause provides a summary.
Cloud deployment models are a way in which cloud computing can be organized based on the control and sharing of
physical or virtual resources.
The cloud deployment models include:
• public cloud;
• private cloud;
• community cloud;
• hybrid cloud.
6 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)
7.2.6 Cross-cutting aspects
Cross-cutting aspects are behaviours or capabilities which need to be coordinated across roles and implemented
consistently in a cloud computing system.
Cross-cutting aspects can be shared and can impact multiple roles, cloud computing activities and functional
components.
Cross-cutting aspects apply to multiple individual roles or functional components.
An example of a cross-cutting aspect is security.
A description of the cross-cutting aspects is provided in clause 8.5.
7.3 Functional view of cloud computing
The functional view is a technology-neutral view of the functions necessary to form a cloud computing system. The
functional view describes the distribution of functions necessary for the support of cloud computing activities.
The functional architecture also defines the dependencies between functions.
The functional view addresses the following cloud computing concepts:
• functional components;
• functional layers; and
• multi-layer functions.
Figure 7-4 illustrates the concepts of functions, layers and functional components.
Multi-layer
Functional
Layer
functions
component
Functional
Layer
component
Functional
component
Functional
Layer
component
Y.3502(14)_F7-4
Figure 7-4 – Functional layering
The cloud computing functional architecture is described in clause 9.1.
7.3.1 Functional components
A functional component is a functional building block needed to engage in an activity, backed by an implementation.
The capabilities of a cloud computing system are fully defined by the set of implemented functional components.
Functional components are further described in clause 9.2.
7.3.2 Functional layers
A layer is a set of functional components that provide similar capabilities or serve a common purpose.
The functional architecture is partially layered (i.e., has layers and a set of multi-layer functions).
There are four distinct layers defined in the CCRA:
• user layer, which includes functional components that support the cloud computing activities of cloud
service customers and cloud service partners;
• access layer, which includes functional components that facilitate function distribution and
interconnection;
• service layer, which includes functional components that provide the cloud services themselves plus
related administration and business capabilities, and the orchestration capabilities necessary to realize
them;
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 7
• resource layer, which includes the functional components that represent the resources needed to
implement the cloud computing system.
Note that not all layers or functional components are necessarily instantiated in a specific cloud computing system.
7.3.3 Multi-layer functions
The multi-layer functions include functional components that provide capabilities that are used across multiple
functional layers.
Multi-layer functions are grouped into subsets.
The following subsets of multi-layer functions are defined:
• development support;
• integration;
• security systems;
• operational support systems;
• business support systems.
Functional components of the multi-layer functions are described in clause 9.2.5.
7.4 Relationship between the user view and the functional view
Figure 7-5 illustrates how the user view provides the set of cloud computing activities that are represented within the
functional view (and realized using the technologies of the implementation view).
Role Multi-layer
Functional
Layer
functions
component
Activity
Functional
Layer
component
Functional
Activity
component
Functional
Layer
component
User view Functional view
Y.3502(14)_F7-5
Figure 7-5 – From user view to functional view
Further details on the relationship between the user view and functional view can be found in clause 10.
7.5 Relationship of the user view and functional view to cross-cutting aspects
Cross-cutting aspects, as their name implies, apply across both the user view and across the functional view of cloud
computing.
Cross-cutting aspects apply to roles and sub-roles in the user view and they directly or indirectly affect the activities
which those roles perform.
Cross-cutting aspects also apply to the functional components within the functional view, which are used when
performing the activities described in the user view.
Cross-cutting aspects of cloud computing described in clause 8.5 include:
• auditability;
• availability;
• governance;
• interoperability;
• maintenance and versioning;
8 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)
• performance;
• portability;
• protection of personally identifiable information;
• regulatory;
• resiliency;
• reversibility;
• security;
• service levels and service level agreement.
7.6 Implementation view of cloud computing
While details of the user view and functional view are addressed within this Recommendation | International Standard,
the implementation view is out of the scope of this Recommendation | International Standard.
7.7 Deployment view of cloud computing
While details of the user view and functional view are addressed within this Recommendation | International Standard,
the deployment view is out of the scope of this Recommendation | International Standard.
8 User view
8.1 Introduction to roles, sub-roles and cloud computing activities
Given that distributed services and their delivery are at the core of cloud computing, all cloud computing related
activities can be categorized into three main groups: activities that use services, activities that provide services and
activities that support services.
This clause contains descriptions of some of the common roles and sub-roles associated with cloud computing.
It is important to note that a party can play more than one role at any given point in time. When playing a role, the party
can restrict itself to playing one or more sub-roles. Sub-roles are a subset of the cloud computing activities of a given
role.
As shown in Figure 8-1, the roles of cloud computing are:
• cloud service customer (clause 8.2);
• cloud service provider (clause 8.3);
• cloud service partner (clause 8.4).

Figure 8-1 – Cloud computing roles
Figure 8-2 shows the roles of cloud computing, with their associated sub-roles. Each of the sub-roles shown in the
figure is described in more detail in the following clauses.
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 9
Figure 8-2 – Roles and sub-roles
8.2 Cloud service customer
8.2.1 Role
A cloud service customer (CSC) has a business relationship with a cloud service provider for the purpose of using
cloud services. A cloud service customer can also have a business relationship with a cloud service partner for a variety
of purposes.
A cloud service customer's activities are included beneath the sub-roles described in clauses 8.2.1.1 to 8.2.1.4.
8.2.1.1 CSC:cloud service user
The CSC:cloud service user is a sub-role of cloud service customer corresponding to a natural person or an entity acting
on their behalf, associated with a cloud service customer that uses cloud services.
The CSC:cloud service user's cloud computing activities include:
• use cloud service (clause 8.2.2.1).
8.2.1.2 CSC:cloud service administrator
The CSC:cloud service administrator is a sub-role of cloud service customer, whose main goal is to ensure the smooth
operation of the customer's use of cloud services, and that those cloud services are running well with the customer's
existing ICT systems and applications. The CSC:cloud service administrator oversees all the operational processes
relating to the use of cloud services and acts as the focal point for technical communications between the cloud service
customer and the cloud service provider.
The CSC:cloud service administrator's cloud computing activities include:
• perform service trial (clause 8.2.2.2);
• monitor service (clause 8.2.2.3);
• administer service security (clause 8.2.2.4);
• provide billing and usage reports (clause 8.2.2.5);
• handle problem reports (clause 8.2.2.6);
• administer tenancies (clause 8.2.2.7).
8.2.1.3 CSC:cloud service business manager
The CSC:cloud service business manager is a sub-role of cloud service customer which aims to meet the business goals
of the cloud service customer through the acquisition and use of cloud services in a cost efficient way. The main
10 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)

responsibilities of the CSC:cloud service business manager concern financial and legal aspects of the use of cloud
services, including approval, on-going ownership and accountability.
The CSC:cloud service business manager's cloud computing activities include:
• perform business administration (clause 8.2.2.8);
• select and purchase service (clause 8.2.2.9);
• request audit report (clause 8.2.2.10).
8.2.1.4 CSC:cloud service integrator
The CSC:cloud service integrator is a sub-role of cloud service customer which is responsible for the integration of
cloud services with a cloud service customer's existing ICT systems, including application function and data.
The CSC:cloud service integrator's cloud computing activities include:
• connect ICT systems to cloud services (clause 8.2.2.11).
8.2.2 Cloud computing activities
The cloud computing activities which relate to the sub-roles of cloud service customer are shown in Figure 8-3.

Figure 8-3 – Cloud computing activities relating to cloud service customer sub-roles
8.2.2.1 Use cloud service
The use cloud service activity involves using the services of a cloud service provider in order to accomplish some tasks.
The use cloud service activity typically involves:
1) the provision of user credentials to enable the cloud service provider to authenticate the user and grant
access to the cloud service;
2) the invocation of the cloud service, which then operates and delivers its specified outcomes.
8.2.2.2 Perform service trial
The perform service trial activity involves using the services of a cloud service provider in order to ensure that the cloud
service is fit for the cloud service customer's business needs. The cloud services are used on a trial basis, with mutual
agreement and understanding between the cloud service provider and cloud service customer.
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 11

The perform service trial activity involves:
1) The provision of the user credentials to enable the cloud service provider to authenticate the user and
grant access to the "trial" cloud service;
2) The invocation of the "trial" cloud service, which can be tested by the cloud service customer for
business purposes.
8.2.2.3 Monitor service
The monitor service activity monitors the delivered service quality with respect to service levels as defined in the service
level agreement (SLA) between cloud service customer and cloud service provider. This activity utilizes intrinsic
monitoring functions of the cloud system. This activity involves:
• keeping track of how much use is being made of each cloud service, and by which users. This includes
assurance that the use is appropriate;
• monitoring the integration of the cloud services with customer's existing ICT systems to ensure that
business goals are being met;
• defining measurement points and performance indicators related to the service in question (e.g., service
availability, service outage frequency, mean time to repair, responsiveness of the provider's help desk,
etc.);
• monitoring, analysing and archiving of these indicator data;
• comparing the actual service quality that is delivered with the agreed service quality.
8.2.2.4 Administer service security
The administer service security activity involves:
• ensuring appropriate security for cloud service customer data that is placed into a cloud computing
environment
• putting in place plans for data backup and recovery, and potentially for data duplication and failover;
• administering security policies;
• defining encryption and integrity technologies to apply to the cloud service customer data both at rest
and also in motion;
• defining the handling of any personally identifiable information (PII) in the cloud service customer
data.
8.2.2.5 Provide billing and usage reports
The provide billing and usage reports activity involves preparing reports of the usage of cloud services by the customer
organization and associated reports of the billing/invoice data which relate to that usage. These reports are provided to
the CSC:business manager.
8.2.2.6 Handle problem reports
The handle problem reports activity involves the customer-side handling of any reported problems associated with the
usage of cloud services. This includes:
• assessing the impact of each problem;
• troubleshooting to determine the cause(s) of the problem;
• opening a problem report(s) with the cloud service provider and tracking to resolution;
• developing workarounds to address the problem;
• escalating problems that are not fixed within agreed timescales or which have serious business impacts.
8.2.2.7 Administer tenancies
The administer tenancies activity involves administering the tenancies of the cloud service customer with the cloud
service provider. This activity involves:
• configuring and controlling security aspects including user accounts, security roles, identities and
permissions;
• identifying and controlling data that is shared between users within the tenancy;
• creating and removing tenants;
• managing users and allocated resources of tenants;
12 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)

• defining enforcement policies for each tenant.
8.2.2.8 Perform business administration
The perform business administration activity involves the management of the business aspects of the use of cloud
services including accounting and financial management. This activity includes:
• adjusting business plan to accommodate the use of cloud services;
• tracking the use of the services and dealing with accounting and financial management;
• handling billing/invoices received from the cloud service provider for the use made of cloud services;
• ensuring that billing matches the actual usage of cloud services made by the cloud service customer;
• making payments to the cloud service provider;
• keeping accounts in relation to the use of cloud services.
8.2.2.9 Select and purchase service
The select and purchase service activity involves:
• examining the cloud service offerings of (one or more) cloud service providers to determine if the service
offered meets the business and technical requirements of the cloud service customer. This typically
involves the reading of a product catalogue and the documentation for each service, which can include
technical information about the service and its SLAs, plus business information including pricing;
• negotiating the terms for the cloud service (if the cloud service provider permits variable terms for the
service);
• accepting the contract for the cloud service and performing registration with the cloud service provider.
8.2.2.10 Request audit report
The request audit report activity involves the cloud service customer requesting the report of an audit of the cloud
service, typically conforming to a particular audit standard or scheme. The cloud service customer can request the report
from a cloud auditor, or possibly from the cloud service provider, although it is expected that the audit report is prepared
by an entity independent of the cloud service provider both before a purchase is completed and also periodically once
the service is in use.
8.2.2.11 Connect ICT systems to cloud services
The connect ICT systems to cloud services activity includes the integration between existing ICT systems and cloud
services and involves the connection of existing ICT component(s) and applications with the target cloud service(s) and
also the connection of the customer monitoring and management systems with the cloud service provider 's monitoring
and control of cloud services.
The connection of existing ICT components and applications with the target cloud service(s) involves:
• assessing the impact of cloud service(s) on existing processes, systems and services;
• mapping business data between cloud service customer's existing ICT systems and cloud services;
• invoking cloud service operations from existing ICT components and applications, with the supply of
input data and the handling of output data;
• provisioning of access rights for CSC:cloud service users;
• defining and implementing security related requirements, including the confidentiality and integrity of
data flows;
• integrating customer facilities for the administration of user accounts, security roles, identities and
permissions with the equivalent facilities for the cloud services;
• creating and monitoring specific user accounts and identities for the use of management interfaces for
cloud services;
• integrating logging and security incident management between cloud services and cloud service customer
monitoring and management infrastructure.
Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014) 13

8.3 Cloud service provider
8.3.1 Role
A cloud service provider (CSP) makes cloud services available to cloud service customers. This role (and all of its
sub-roles) focuses on the cloud computing activities necessary to provide a cloud service and the cloud computing
activities necessary to ensure its delivery to the cloud service customer, as well as cloud service maintenance.
The cloud service provider is responsible for dealing with the business relationship with cloud service customers.
A cloud service provider's activities are included beneath the sub-roles described in clauses 8.3.1.1 to 8.3.1.8.
8.3.1.1 CSP:cloud service operations manager
The CSP:cloud service operations manager is a sub-role of cloud service provider which is responsible for performing
all operational processes and procedures of the cloud service provider, ensuring that all services and associated
infrastructure meet operational targets.
The CSP:cloud operations manager's cloud computing activities include:
• prepare systems (clause 8.3.2.1);
• monitor and administer services (clause 8.3.2.2);
• manage assets and inventory (clause 8.3.2.3);
• provide audit data (clause 8.3.2.4).
8.3.1.2 CSP:cloud service deployment manager
The CSP:cloud service deployment manager is a sub-role of cloud service provider which has responsibility for the
planning of the deployment of a service into production. This includes defining the operational environment for the
service, the initial steps for deployment of the service and its dependencies, and the enablement of operations processes
which are used during the running of the service.
The CSP:cloud service deployment manager's cloud computing activities include:
• define environment and processes (clause 8.3.2.5);
• define and gather metrics (clause 8.3.2.6);
• define deployment steps (clause 8.3.2.7).
8.3.1.3 CSP:cloud service manager
The CSP:cloud service manager is a sub-role of cloud service provider which has responsibility for ensuring that the
cloud service provider's services are available for use by cloud service customers, and that they function correctly and
comply with targets specified in the service level agreement. The CSP:cloud service manager is also responsible for
ensuring the smooth operation of the cloud service provider's business support system and operational support system,
as well as the operation of the other functionalities offered to the cloud service customers and cloud service partners
for management, administration and other cloud computing activities.
The CSP:cloud service manager's cloud computing activities include:
• provide services (clause 8.3.2.8);
• deploy and provision services (clause 8.3.2.9);
• perform service level management (clause 8.3.2.10).
8.3.1.4 CSP:cloud service business manager
The CSP:cloud service business manager is a sub-role of cloud service provider which has overall responsibility for the
business aspects of offering cloud services to cloud service customers. The CSP:cloud service business manager creates
and tracks the business plan, defines the service offering strategy and manages the business relationship with cloud
service customers.
The CSP:cloud service business manager's cloud computing activities include:
• manage business plan to provide cloud services (clause 8.3.2.11);
• manage customer relationships (clause 8.3.2.12);
• manage financial processing (clause 8.3.2.13).
14 Rec. ITU-T Y.3502 (08/2014)

8.3.1.5 CSP:customer support and care representative
The CSP:customer support and care representative is a sub-role of cloud service provider that is the main interface for
the cloud service customer with the cloud service provider and is responsible for reacting to customer issues and queries
in a timely and cost efficient way, with the goal of maintaining customer satisfaction with the cloud service provider
and the cloud services offered.
The CSP:customer support and care representative's cloud computing activities include:
• handle customer requests (clause 8.3.2.14).
8.3.1.6 CSP:inter-cloud provider
The CSP:inter-cloud provider is a sub-role of cloud service provider that relies on one or more peer cloud service
providers to provide part or all of the cloud services offered to cloud service customers by that CSP:inter-cloud
provider. The CSP:in
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