A blog entry by Private & Hybrid Clouds Track Chair Barb Goldworm.

Hybrid clouds are getting a lot of attention these days and rightly so. Many believe that given time, everything will ultimately be a hybrid cloud of some type.  The question is not if, but rather what, where, when, who, and how.

• What type of cloud(s) should you be implementing– private, public, community…?
• Where should different workloads run (cloud or not and which type of cloud)?
• When should different workloads migrate?
• Who are the leaders, both as private cloud component players and as service providers?
• And of course, how do you get there, securely and efficiently?

These are the questions we will be focusing on at Cloud Connect in our Private and Hybrid Cloud track, and our Private Cloud workshop. We have a great line up of topics and speakers to help you navigate the road to cloud.  With leaders from OpenStack, Eucalytpus, CloudStack/Citrix, VMware, Cisco, BlueLock  and more we will be drilling down into how to go about building a private/hybrid cloud with today’s tools and services, what’s coming down the road, and how to start now, with an eye towards the future.

In the Building VMware-based Private Clouds session , Neela Jacques (one of our top rated VMware speakers) , will share VMware’s experiences to-date in building clouds, as well as how VMware’s new vision of software defined datacenters can fit into and shape your future plans.

Based on rave reviews from past sessions, we are doing an encore of a rapid fire comparison session, Comparing Cloud Orchestration Stacks, with leading cloud orchestration stack vendors answering ten key questions on their stacks, and then inviting you to dig deeper with them.

On the public vs. private debate/discussion, we have a panel of experts including a cloud stack vendor and service providers, looking at  Hybrid Clouds – Can you Get the Best of Both Cloud Worlds (Public and Private).

And continuing the discussion around orchestration and management, Scott Hammond, VP of strategy, Cloud & Systems Management  from Cisco will leverage his background in service management and discuss  Enabling IT as a Service – Cloud Management and Orchestration.

So join our conversation on what, where, when, who and how, and take home some practical answers on the next stops on your road to cloud.

Tags: Chicago Cisco cloud cloud adoption cloud connect Cloud Connect 2012 private clouds utility computing virtualization VMware

Here are a few reasons why to register before you get on site at Cloud Connect Chicago:

• Prices are set to increase onsite in Chicago. By registering today, you will receive a $200 discount on conference passes or get a free expo pass by clicking on this link!
• Registering allows you access to the Cloud Connect Mobile App. Get event information at your fingertips including exhibitors, sessions, events, news, exhibition floor plan, new products and show specials. Plus, receive suggestions based on your interests, create short lists, plan your agenda, take notes, get directions, and more!
• Once you arrive at Cloud Connect, you can quickly print your badge off of one of the computers provided and get
  right on the show floor! Otherwise you will need to spend time registering yourself and your team onsite.
• Tell all of your friends and colleagues that you are attending Cloud Connect conference and workshop sessions. It will ensure your organization is equipped to leverage new cloud and big data technology solutions in order to increase efficiency and improve your business agility. They will be super jealous!

Looking forward to seeing you in Chicago!

Feel free to follow me on Twitter for inside Cloud Connect updates.

Cheers,

Jason

Tags: adoption Architecture Chicago CIO cloud cloud adoption cloud computing cloud connect Cloud Connect 2012 PaaS private clouds SaaS social media

Here are five ways that you can accelerate your cloud computing strategy at Cloud Connect Chicago:

1. Attend 30+ sessions across 8 conference tracks including big data, cloud infrastructure, application design and architecture.
2. Hear from keynotes and top industry leaders as they discuss hot topics including private and hybrid clouds, mobile clouds, and cloud performance.
3. See all the latest cloud solutions from 50+leading companies.
4. Enjoy vendor-hosted beverages while you check out the latest products and network during the Cocktail Reception on the Expo floor.
5. Hear about new cloud solutions hosted in the new Cloud Solutions Theater.

Cloud Connect Chicago will provide four days of inspiring cloud dialogue and get you up to speed on how to leverage new cloud technology solutions to increase efficiency and improve your business agility. Register by August 10 with priority code RFPQCH04 to save $400 on Platinum or Conference passes. Don’t forget to tell your friends as well!

Feel free to follow me on Twitter for inside Cloud Connect updates.

Cheers,

Jason

Tags: adoption applications Architecture Chicago CIO cloud cloud adoption cloud computing cloud connect Cloud Connect 2012 infrastructure networking PaaS Performance and Availability private clouds ROI SaaS WAN

• Prices are set to increase onsite in Santa Clara. By registering today, you will receive a 25% discount on conference passes* or a free expo pass by clicking this link!
• Registering allows you access to the Cloud Connect Mobile App,  where you have the exclusive opportunity to create your own Cloud Connect schedule, view an interactive expo map, get the latest event news, and more!
• Once you arrive at Cloud Connect, you can quickly print your badge off of one of the computers provided and get right on the show floor! Otherwise you will need to spend time registering yourself and your team onsite.

Take advantage of receiving 25% discount on your conference* registration by clicking on this link: http://tiny.cc/jw2vo

For more information about attending Cloud Connect, please visit the event site.

Looking forward to seeing you in Santa Clara during the week of February13, 2012.

Jason

*The 25% off discount applies to Platinum and Conference Passes. The discount is calculated based on the on-site price and not combinable with other offers.

Prices after discount applied: Platinum: $1,796.25 | Conference: $1,571.2

Tags: cloud cloud adoption cloud computing cloud connect Cloud Connect 2012 cloud performance summit PaaS private clouds SaaS

A majority of the cloud related articles that I have read from the end of last year to now, all have a common theme. 2012 is going to be the year of the cloud! I thought 2011 was the year of the cloud. It surely was the most talked about subject within the IT market. As I look back at 2011, the cloud talk was surely just that – talk and I mean that in a good way. Continue Reading »

Tags: adoption cloud cloud computing cloud connect Cloud Connect 2012 cloud performance summit PaaS private clouds SaaS utility computing

A post from Organizational Readiness Track Chair, Scott Bils.

“The technology is the easy part.  It’s the cultural issues that are hard.”

This quote from a recent conversation with a Fortune 500 CIO perfectly summarizes why we’re holding the first-of-its-kind Organizational Readiness track at Cloud Connect.   As enterprise adoption of public and private clouds continues to accelerate, the majority of focus continues to be on technical issues.  Organizational and cultural issues though are starting to pose significant barriers and challenges as CIOs work to implement their cloud strategies.  Just a few of these emerging issues facing enterprise IT include:

• What does our future IT organization need to look like?  How do our key roles, processes and skills need to change?
• How do we overcome internal resistance to cloud adoption?  How do we help employees make the paradigm shift, and rethink IT, services, and even their own roles?
• How does our governance need to change in a world where business users have much more choice and control?
• How we ensure we have the internal skills we need to support cloud?  How can we compete in the market for increasingly scarce talent?

Just as the shift from mainframe to client / server architectures drove a wave of transformation for IT organization and governance, so is the migration to cloud services.   The focus of our track will be on exploring the ‘soft issues’ around enterprise cloud adoption, and discussing emerging models for success for building next generation IT organizations.

The track will include sessions that will surface the around real organizational, cultural, skills that are emerging with enterprises migrating their environments to the cloud.  These sessions include ‘Will Culture Eat Your Strategy? How to Turn the Tables’, where Simon Wardly will lead a discussion around how IT leaders can overcome the cultural barriers to change.  We’ll have a series of panels and discussions on how enterprises are navigating the organizational changes being driven by cloud, which will include IT leaders from Best Buy, eBay, Novartis, InterContinental Hotel Group and others.  David Linthicum’s session on ‘In Search of Mad Cloud Skills’ will help us understand the new cloud skills that will be required in the enterprise, and where to find them.

Failing to address the organizational issues associated with transformational change can doom even the best cloud strategies and technologies.  Join our Organizational Readiness track to learn how to effectively prepare your organization to embrace the change that’s coming with your migration to cloud.

Not registered for Cloud Connect yet?  Visit the conference registration page and use code CPNCDCC07 to save 25% on conference passes or get a free expo pass and learn how to join what I’m sure will be an exciting and insightful event.

Tags: Architecture CIO cloud cloud computing cloud connect PaaS private clouds SaaS

A post from Cloud Connect’s Private Cloud Track Chair, Dave Roberts.

When cloud computing was young, most people theorized that the industry and foundational technology would develop very similarly to the early days of electric utilities. All this capital investment in enterprise IT, people said, would be replaced by the purchase of computing as a service from open market producers. Instead of buying and depreciating large hardware and software systems, we’d leave those purchases to the service providers and buy our computing “by the drink,” paying only for what we used. When we were done, we’d flick the computing equivalent of a light switch and the meter would stop. If you’re old enough to remember, before we called it “cloud computing,” we originally called it “utility computing.”

Continue Reading »

Tags: cloud cloud computing cloud connect Cloud Connect 2012 OpenStack PaaS private clouds SaaS