ITnett

ITnett is a conceptual framework and hypothetical global information technology network intended to interconnect computing resources, services, and devices across organizational boundaries. It describes a layer of interoperable services that can route data and commands between on-premises environments, public clouds, and edge devices.

Architecture: It envisions distributed nodes representing service endpoints, with regional hubs, standardized APIs, message buses, and directory services that resolve capabilities. Communications rely on secure protocols (TLS), with policy enforcement points, identity and access management, and data governance.

Standards and governance: ITnett is described as an open standard with member-led working groups. Interoperability is achieved via common data models, API contracts, and event streaming. Security and privacy guidelines emphasize least privilege, encryption at rest and in motion, and auditable logs.

Applications: Enterprises might use ITnett to orchestrate cloud workloads, integrate SaaS apps, manage IoT fleets, or enable research collaborations. It supports multi-cloud deployments and vendor-agnostic tooling.

Reception and status: In academic and industry discussions, ITnett is used as a teaching example of interoperability; there is no single dominant implementation, and real-world deployments vary.