The Open Data Center Alliance  has announced that the NTT DATA Corporation has joined its top leadership ranks as the newest member of the organization’s steering committee. This union brings together a leading global IT services corporation with the leading voice for end users in cloud computing. This announcement comes as Alliance works towards a significant milestone, the organization’s first public event, Forecast 2012.

 “With over 300 members, the Open Data Center Alliance has become a leading voice for the IT community,” said Marvin Wheeler, chairman, Open Data Center Alliance. “It is exciting to see industry leaders like NTT DATA signing up to help set the direction for development and implementation of cloud computing through the work of the Alliance.”

With operations in 35 countries, NTT DATA is the world’s 8th largest IT services provider with $14 billion in revenue and over 57,000 employees. NTT DATA provides a long list of professional services including consulting, system development, business process and IT outsourcing, to cloud-based solutions. The Open Data Center Alliance, a group of 300+ companies that represent over $100B in annual IT spend. In June 2011, the Alliance published the first release of its usage models cloud computing requirements.

The Alliance recently announced that it will host its first public event, Forecast 2012, June 12, 2012 in New York City. Held in conjunction with the 10th International Cloud Expo, this event will be open to Alliance members, partner organizations and any companies and organizations interested in addressing the most pressing challenges associated with transitioning to cloud computing. The event will include presentations by top cloud visionaries, classes presented by Alliance technical leaders and the latest industry advancements in delivery of solutions based on Alliance requirements.