10 reasons to attend  Powering the Cloud

In 2013 the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are more relevant now than ever before as it embraces not just ever accelerating technological advancements but also business, delivery and consumption model changes.

As we celebrate 10 years of Europe’s No 1 IT event we thought it would be good to explore 10 good reasons why you should visit this year on October 29th and 30th at Congress Frankfurt and show why the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are still the most important for Europe’s decision makers and industry professionals, bringing clarity to their IT vision.

1. Thought Leadership
Helping delegates justify the time and expense of visiting the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events has always been foremost in the organisers thinking and influences not only the content of the event but also the style and format. In particular all speakers are strongly encouraged to provide true ‘thought leadership’ content in their talks and to inspire delegates with their ideas, insights and opinions. With this in mind we created the Spotlight Sessions at the heart of the content of the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events. The Spotlight Sessions, aimed at CIO and senior IT professional level delegates, set the tone for whole event looking in depth at issues that the IT professional has to address on a daily basis as well as those on the horizon that are going to have a major impact in the near future.

The 5 topics covered in the Spotlight Sessions this year will give delegates the opportunity to explore, analyse and question the latest thinking on Big Data, Security, IT Management, Datacenter infrastructure and real world application delivery in the age of the Cloud, mobility and the agile business.

If you are looking for some real ‘take-aways’ to discuss with your colleagues and ideas that could alter your view of what is possible then the Spotlight Sessions should be the centre of your agenda at the 2013 ‘Powering the Cloud’ events.

2. Hot Topics
The nature of the IT industry is change, and nothing excites us more than new technologies, thinking or ‘buzzwords’. The ‘Powering the Cloud’ events acknowledge your thirst for the ‘latest and greatest’ and try to address this by the inclusion of our Hot Topics stream of talks.
As well as trying to bring you exciting topics we also take on the responsibility to give you more than one view of a particular topic.

So this year we have chosen speakers with in depth knowledge and expertise as well as distinct views and ideas and grouped the talks under specific topic headings so that you can see many angles to the same issue.
The topic headings we have chosen for this year are Solid State, the Cloud, Open Source, Software Defined ‘X’ and Emerging Technologies.

Within each of these topics we have a series of talks exploring the many different aspects of the subject. If you have a need to ‘quench your thirst’ for knowledge on these subjects then put the Hot Topics Stream high on your personal agenda for the 2013 ‘Powering the Cloud’ events.

3. Case studies
Spread right across the agenda of the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are real-world case studies of how organisations across Europe have addressed their IT issues, often in tough financial environments and against tight deadlines.

As well as individual case studies presented by CIOs and IT managers from government and enterprise organisations many of our sponsors and analysts will also include particular case studies within their talks.

Throughout the 10 years of the event we have always seen case studies as an important part of our content as they are real-world examples of how IT professionals can use not just the technology but also their ingenuity, skill and endeavour to solve complex business issues.

There are sure to be case studies that are relevant to your organisation and the issues you face so make sure that you pick these out when organising your personal agenda at this year’s the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events.

4. Updates
The ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are a shop window for our sponsors and often the only opportunity for you to hear first-hand about their latest innovations and developments. We therefore have a stream of talks dedicated to sponsor updates and their case studies.

The sponsor update sessions are also often where delegates first hear about a particular sponsor and have a chance to listen to their business proposition. These sessions often lead to amazing IT solutions using a technology and supplier that the delegate had never considered before.

Whether you just want an update from one of your favourite suppliers or are searching for new ideas and suppliers our Sponsor Update sessions should be high on your agenda.

5. Speakers
Over the year our event has attracted some of the most inspirational speakers in our industry and this year will be no exception.

We have CEO and Presidents from our major sponsors giving their insights and opinions on what are likely to be the next great ideas, products and business models.

We have senior spokespersons from some of the top industry analyst organisations giving us their insight from their latest research and we have independent guest speakers and industry experts who will provide that special content that challenges our current ideas and opinions.

All of our speakers this year have been set the goal to educate, inform and challenge delegates and most importantly to inspire and enthuse them.

We are confident they will all rise to the challenge.

6. Debate
When you are putting forward controversial subjects and topics and encouraging speakers to challenge delegates and give differing viewpoints it is important to offer delegates the opportunity to question those speakers.

To facilitate this two way dialogue and debate our Spotlight Sessions will incorporate Q&A sessions after each sub-topic heading and at the end of our Big Data Spotlight Session we will have a full 1 hour debate addressing issues brought up throughout the two days.

We will also be holding a special debate on the role of Managed Services in the delivery of IT solutions. This session will involve panellists including CIOs from major enterprises, analysts, industry experts and sponsors and will highlight all the issues surrounding this most important issue.

If you prefer to get involved rather than just listening or merely like
to hear different viewpoints then our Q&A and debating sessions
will be the highlight of your visit to the 2013 ‘Powering the Cloud’ events.
7. Networking
Many delegates have been coming to our event year after year purely for the networking opportunities and as organisers we place a high priority in facilitating this.

Whether it is meeting up with fellow delegates to discuss experiences and solutions each has implemented or to discuss ideas and views one has heard in one of the presentations this networking can be the most valuable time at the event.

Through the many conference sessions you will have the opportunity to hear from many of our sponsors but most importantly within our exhibition area you will be able to meet them in a relaxed and informal environment where you can explore what they have to offer and discuss potentially beneficial relationships. The ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are the ultimate networking opportunity, enabling delegates to meet fellow IT professionals and explore ideas and opportunities.

8. Knowledge
For many of our delegates the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are the place they come to enhance their knowledge and enrich their depth of understanding of the latest developments in the areas of storage, virtualisation and datacenter technologies.

This knowledge is enhanced by contributions from the SNIA to many of the sessions on the agenda as well as participation of several industry bodies and analysts such as 451 Research, Cloud Security Alliance, Data Centre Alliance, EuroCloud Deutschland, eco.de, Evaluator Group. Neuralytix, IDC, BITKOM, Guide Share Europe, SANBoard and many more.

This rich content contribution from such a diverse source ensures that ‘Powering the Cloud’ events cater for all types of delegates from those who want in-depth information on specific topics or issues to those who need to see the bigger picture. If enhancing your knowledge is one of your priorities, especially at this time of massive change in technology, delivery models and IT consumption, then the ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are the must attend events for you.

9. Partnerships
Very little is achieved in the IT world without partnerships and alliances. From the work done between major vendors and service providers to create interoperable solutions down to the smallest computer VAR delivering an IT solution to an SMB customer the role of partnerships and alliances are vital to a successful IT deployment.

The 2013 ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are fundamentally about supporting Europe’s IT vendors, service providers, systems integrators, solution VARs, enterprise CIOs, IT managers and IT professionals form these important partnerships and alliances.
Whether you are a CIO looking for strategic partnerships with suppliers, an IT manager or professional trying to find the right technological supplier or a computer channel executive trying to identify your next important vendor or service provider partner ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are the ideal opportunity for you.

10. 023Vision
How often do you have the opportunity to step back from your day to day activities and spend time enhancing your vision of what is possible in the IT world?

For most of us our real life experience, vendor presentations and private research and reading are the source of what is possible. No matter how open we are to new ideas much of our vision of what is possible is skewed by experience, prejudice and time constraints. So how do you combat that restricted vision?

Attending the 2013 ‘Powering the Cloud’ of course. This unique event with its combination of thought leadership content, debate and networking is the ideal place to refresh and renew your vision.

At many events you can be overwhelmed by confusing content and competing messages that can leave you dazed and less clear of what is possible than when you arrived.

The ‘Powering the Cloud’ events are completely the opposite. By structuring the content into sessions and themes, by choosing speakers with a range of knowledge, experience and viewpoints, by enabling questioning and debate and by providing the opportunity to network with your peers we have laid the platform from which you can bring clarity to your IT vision.

IT end users and channel partner can register for free with promo code: P3M13 at www.poweringthecloud.com

Delegate feedback
“I came a long way to attend the convention and had high expectations that were fully filled. The convention was well organized and the lectures were of high quality and provided a good picture of the trends of technology. For me, as a consultant, it was of great value. I deffinitely will come again.”
“The event was both technically interesting and effective. It was time away from s busy schedule very well spent. I would totally recommend it.”
“The ‘Powering the Cloud’ events were wonderful and successful. It was an important gathering of experts from all industries as well as academic backgrounds.”