Cloud computing and cloud services continue to gain global momentum. The latest example: Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) and China Telecom Corporation Limited (China Telecom) have inked a partnership to provide cloud computing services in China by the summer of 2012, which is when they plan to provide services to the Chinese market. The partnership plans to offer laaS, PaaS and SaaS cloud computing services.

China Telecom offers a variety of telecommunications-related services: voice, wireless services, internet connectivity and also owns data centers across China, which makes China Telecom the largest carrier in the country (170 million local line subscribers).

Meanwhile, Internet Initiative Japan believes China is a viable market for growth. IIJ began providing prototype cloud computing services as early as 2000. IIJ branded itself as “IIJ GIO” in 2009 and has been recognized as the number one cloud computing service in Japan. IIJ GIO covers layers from laaS to SaaS.

Through the partnership, China Telecom will be able to use IIJ’s expertise in cloud computing services, while IIJ will benefit from China Telecom’s data and network infrastructure Together, the strategic partnership will provide cloud computing services in China that are considered to be high quality, as well as flexible.