A newly created cloud-computing consortium hopes to drive development and adoption of the first nationwide high-definition enterprise voice and data network in the IP “cloud.” Called the Cloud Communications Alliance, the group has formed this week in New York City at the Cloud Computing Expo.

“The future of hosted telecommunications lies in the ‘cloud,’ and the CCA is committed to that future,” said Monty Ferdowsi, Broadcore president & CEO. “The combined strengths of eight industry leaders in hosted-IP voice and data solutions will be greater than the sum capabilities of the individual member companies. Technology will advance faster, customers will see more innovation, investment in the category will increase, and the rest of the industry will need to quicken its pace to keep up.”

The eight companies that currently comprise the CCA aim to promote awareness of the Cloud Communications standard and drive its development through the pursuit of new technical standards, capabilities and applications. The CCA also will jointly deliver services directly to customers, allowing enterprise customers to experience more flexible and manageable voice and unified communications systems that will increase employee productivity while reducing costs.

Founding CCA companies include Alteva, Broadcore, Callis Communications, Consolidated Technologies Inc., IPFone, SimpleSignal, Stage 2 Networks and Telesphere. CCA members currently represent more than $100 million in combined annual revenue and collectively serve more than 110,000 business customers in the United States.