The template contracts set out terms and conditions for governing the relationship between cloud providers and cloud customers and can be adapted to specific cloud arrangements.
The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), one of the bodies involved in the initiative, said the standardised terms will help "to lower the barriers to entry for SME cloud providers and make it easier for end users to safely migrate to the cloud".
Alex Hilton, CIF chief executive, said: "Cloud contracts remain a major stumbling block for both providers of cloud services and end users; something that hasn’t been helped by the fact that there has been little consistency in the terminology in the terms used. From an end user point of view, that lack of consistency makes it difficult for businesses to know precisely what they are getting into when entering into cloud service agreements and where liabilities and responsibility for cloud service delivery lie."