The NAB initiative is one of the key goals of the Intel-inspired Open Data Centre Alliance, a consortium of multinational corporations and IT suppliers who have come together to spearhead the adoption of cloud technology in the business sector. NAB is one of the 13-member-steering committee, which also includes Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and UBS.

At an ODCA meeting in Melbourne, NAB announced plans to deliver a security standards proof of concept, and template, that could be used to evalaute the level of protection offered by cloud providers. The bank is positing a set of accreditation standards from bronze to platinum, to which suppliers would need to comply. Platinum would offer military-grade protection, while gold would meet the needs of financial services firms.

Adam Bennett, chief information officer, National Australia Bank, says: "To fully take advantage of cloud solutions, our security SLAs must extend across all computing environments regardless whether using a dedicated cloud service available via a private cloud or a service shared with other subscribers via a public cloud. The security provider requirements specified by ODCA provide a great step forward towards our goal for secure delivery of cloud solutions."