Overview
ISO/IEC 22123-1:2023 is the international vocabulary for cloud computing. Published by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38, this second edition defines the standardized terms and definitions used across cloud computing, covering foundational concepts, deployment models, roles, characteristics, service categories and related topics. The document replaces earlier editions and refines terms to reflect current cloud practice.
This vocabulary enables consistent language for architects, providers, customers, auditors and regulators, and supports clearer requirements in procurement, contracts and compliance programs.
Key Topics
The standard is organized into concise topic groups that map to common cloud concerns:
- Cloud computing foundation: core concepts such as cloud computing, cloud service, and cloud solution.
- Deployment models: definitions for private cloud, public cloud, community cloud, hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, federated cloud and inter-cloud.
- Roles and activities: standardized role names and role-based activities, including cloud service customer (CSC), cloud service provider (CSP), cloud service user (CSU) and cloud service partner (CSN), plus sub-roles such as cloud auditor and cloud broker.
- Key characteristics: terms like measured service, multi-tenancy, on-demand self-service and resource pooling.
- Capabilities and service categories: classification of cloud capabilities and common categories such as IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, DSaaS, NaaS, CaaS, and compute/storage/platform types.
- Interoperability, portability and security: vocabulary for interoperability, portability, cloud data, and security/privacy related terms.
The foreword also highlights recent refinements introduced in the 2023 edition - for example, updates to hybrid cloud, added role definitions (CSC role, CSP role, CSN role), and expanded terms for multi-cloud and multiplicity of services.
Applications
Practitioners and organizations use ISO/IEC 22123-1:2023 to:
- Harmonize terminology across teams, vendors and contracts to reduce ambiguity.
- Improve interoperability and integration planning when using multi-cloud or hybrid deployments.
- Clarify roles and responsibilities in cloud service agreements, audits and governance frameworks.
- Support training, documentation and vendor selection by providing authoritative definitions for IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and related services.
Adopting a common vocabulary helps legal, procurement, security and technical stakeholders align expectations and reduce risk when designing, buying or operating cloud solutions.
Related Standards
ISO/IEC 22123-1:2023 is part of the broader ISO/IEC cloud series and complements standards on cloud service agreements, security, and interoperability. It references ISO and IEC terminology resources (ISO OBP and IEC Electropedia) and should be used alongside relevant technical and management standards for implementation and compliance.
For practical use, refer to the full text for authoritative definitions and the bibliography/index for related parts of the ISO/IEC 22123 series.
