Services are required for developers to create and run apps. A service can be a database, messaging, or API gateway. Running apps at scale requires a vast number of services. As such, services are integral to the success of a platform. For Cloud Foundry, the ability to connect to and manage Services is a crucial piece of the platform.
Within Cloud Foundry, services connect to the platform via the Service Broker API. The Cloud Foundry Service Broker API offers an elegant solution for connecting Services to a platform, and is an oft-cited piece of functionality admired by other platforms. Given increasing interest in this solution, the Cloud Foundry Foundation created a cross-foundation Working Group with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation to determine how the Cloud Foundry Service Broker API can be opened up and leveraged as an industry-standard specification for connecting services to platforms.