TAIPEI -- Quanta, one of the world's largest electronics ODMs, is working with cloud computing developers on a slate of turnkey solutions, including offering printed circuit board and mechanical design software on a fee-for-use basis.

The cloud -- a network of servers controlled by a single company -- has been a popular vehicle for selling storage space to third parties, but what Quanta is developing takes that to a new level.

Under the arrangement, Quanta is offering Cadence's OrCAD PCB design software and PTC's Pro/E MCAD, among other design tools, to design engineers in Taiwan. (Quanta is using Microsoft's Office Communication System as its platform.)

The model is a shift from the typical time-based fee schedules. Quanta has not disclosed its pricing schedule.

If it works, Quanta's "CAD in the cloud" could prove a model for other large ODMs. A cross-industry strategic alliance is essential to promoting cloud computing, that is, suppliers of hardware/software cloud platforms and other partners cooperate to offer total solution services at minimum costs for users in maximum volumes, said Chunghwa Telecom vice president Lee Yen-sung, as reported by DigiTimes.

Read Mike Buetow's comments on this arrangement here.