How AI-Driven Operations (AIOps) Are Shaping Global Cloud Service Standards

What is Intelligent Operations (AIOps)?

Intelligent Operations, or AIOps, refers to the application of artificial intelligence to the operations side of enterprise DevOps. By processing existing operational data such as logs, monitoring information, and application metrics with machine‑learning techniques, AIOps assists decision‑making, enabling root‑cause analysis, fault diagnosis, fault prediction, capacity forecasting, and intelligent change management. These capabilities help enterprises reduce costs, improve efficiency, enhance safety, and strengthen core competitiveness for high‑quality development.

International Standardization Milestone

From July 5 to 16, 2021, the International Telecommunication Union’s Study Group 13 (ITU‑T SG13) held a plenary meeting with over a hundred representatives from more than twenty countries. Led by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the proposal “Cloud Computing – Requirements for AI‑Based Operation Management of Cloud Service” was discussed in multiple working groups and ultimately approved as a new international standard. This marks a significant step toward global standardization of intelligent operations.

Scope of the New Standard

The standard focuses on the architecture of cloud service intelligent operation management, defines functional requirements, and provides use‑case scenarios. Its goal is to clarify AIOps capabilities, foster consensus on architecture, promote international collaboration, and support the effective deployment of AIOps technologies, thereby encouraging healthy development of the global AIOps industry.

Domestic Standards and Industry Participation

Domestically, CAICT, through the China Communications Standardization Association (TC1 WG5), has drafted two industry standards: “Cloud Computing Intelligent Operation (AIOps) Capability Maturity Model – Part 1: General Capability Requirements” and “Part 2: System and Tool Technical Requirements.” These standards guide enterprises in adopting intelligent methods for IT system operation and clarify the technical abilities required of AIOps tools. Over forty leading Chinese enterprises—including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, ByteDance, JD.com, Huawei, China Mobile, and others—contributed to these efforts, reflecting broad industry consensus.

Invitation to Join the Standard‑Setting Process

CAICT welcomes additional experts worldwide to participate in the ongoing development of the AIOps standard. Interested parties can contact Shang Mengchen ([email protected], +86 132 6108 1232).

About CAICT’s Governance and Audit Department

Established in September 2020, the Governance and Audit Department of CAICT’s Cloud Computing and Big Data Institute focuses on research and practice of enterprise IT governance. It has built three core business lines—technology risk governance, IT effectiveness governance, and R&D operations governance—and launched initiatives such as the enterprise‑level DevOps empowerment program, the Internet IT risk governance committee, and the FinOps industry promotion group, delivering international and domestic standards and assessment frameworks for DevOps, AIOps, and related fields.