The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) has announced a new membership scheme targeting IT and business professionals.
The new membership programme is in final stage of development with some services already available.
Due to demand, CIF is offering early access with discounted fees for early adopters.
The new scheme aims to not only provide industry professionals with ongoing resources pertinent to cloud computing, but also provide a market-recognised and respected certification and an accreditation programme.
Individual members will be given direct access to a range of assets including the latest market research on trends and issues affecting the Cloud computing industry, as well as Buyer's Guides, Service Guides and information on Cloud procurement and management best practices.
The CIF has also developed a Cloud Adoption Roadmap as a framework to help its members identify key milestones in the cloud adoption journey.
The Certification Scheme - scheduled for launch in 2015 - comprises of three levels of certification - Basic, Advanced Tech and Commercial.
The Scheme itself has been designed for those who work in IT operations, IT management and IT Directors, as well as line of business personnel such as legal and procurement and members of the Board.
The Scheme will encompass Research & Strategy, Situational Assessment, Preparation steps, Adoption best practices and cloud management.
Alex Hilton, CEO of CIF, stated: "We have decided to extend our membership programme to encompass individuals working in the field, and not just the vendor community.
"For us there was a missing element in the services we offer the market and educating and informing the very people who work at the 'coal face' of cloud computing was a logical next step.
"With Cloud computing seeing a huge increase in adoption since 2010 - by some 61.5 per cent according to our own research - what is clear is that not only is cloud here to stay, but it is now permeating throughout the overwhelming majority of organisations, regardless of whether or not they have the skills in place to manage it.
"The launch of the accreditation and certification scheme is aimed at providing a respected accreditation for those looking to reskill to take advantage of the Cloud computing revolution."