Cloud computing - the next chasm

Summary form only given. The word "cloud computing" is creating a buzz in the IT Industry today and is being looked upon as the foundation of the "fourth wave" of technology termed as "IT everywhere". While the different companies are gearing up to be a part of the "cloud" the significant drivers of this new paradigm are lowering of cost and increasing efficiencies. We read about Google, Salesforce and Amazon moving up the value chain in their offerings and providing services in the generic domain of "Xaas" These includes terms like Infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, software as a service etc etc. There are key customer issues around cloud and as a principle there is no one single solution that fits all, every situation is unique and brings along its own set of challenges and therefore solutions. Further, there are implications associated with every organization in terms of identifying the core issues and finding the "right" solution at the "right" price. If we talk to any CIO in the audience today and ask him what keeps him awake at night, one of the points will be the relentless pressure on cost. The question is is the cloud the all pervasive answer to all his woes? The objective of this session is to unravel the myth, provide a background of what are the real scenarios being unraveled and explore some of the challenges associated with the current state of affairs where the cloud is positioned to deliver business outcomes rather than being just a hyped up term. It will provide insights of the different level of maturity the entire ecosystem is going through and finally will provide some key tenets of what Hewlett Packard is doing in this area to help customers and the IT ecosystem.