Tech giants drive the agenda at Cloud World Forum

Day One of the Future Cloud track will see Kerry Bailey, SVP HP Cloud, HP, look at what is grounded for the enterprise after eight years of Cloud, followed by Jason Zander, the Corporate Vice President of the Microsoft Azure team at Microsoft, who will discuss the impact of the Cloud first, mobile first transformation of IT. Joining the line-up is Bob Evans, SVP, Oracle, who will discuss the top ten myths about Cloud computing and Robert Crooke, Corporate VP and General Manager of the NVM Solutions Group at Intel, who will assess the future of storage enabling transformational change in Cloud computing. Media is invited to join a technical workshop during the event on storage solutions at the Intel booth.

Intel’s General Manager of Software Defined Infrastructure, Jonathan Donaldson, will speak on Day Two about re-imagining the data centre for a services led world, followed by a masterclass on the next steps in monetising the Cloud from Barak Regev, Head of EMEA Cloud Platform at Google. Google Enterprise will also be hosting a free theatre with hands-on labs and enterprise case studies.

“The ability to innovate will determine Europe’s economic status. Cloud speeds innovation, gives organisations flexibility to tap spare capacity with limited waste and rapidly assemble new market opportunities,” said Xavier Poisson-Gouyou Beauchamps, EMEA Vice-President for Cloud, Hewlett-Packard. “Cloud adoption will continue to grow until it becomes the standard for businesses and individuals. HP is investing more than $1 billion in new Cloud services and portfolio under its newly branded HP Helion cloud portfolio, which enables organisations to build, manage and consume workloads in hybrid IT environments, with a choice of SLA as needed by Enterprise grade Cloud solutions.”

Dell will take part in the Transforming Cloud track on Day One with a look at adding value as a Cloud integrator from Nick Hyner, Director Cloud Services EMEA.
Mr Hyner said: “CXO’s need to act as Chief Innovation Officers, reacting quickly to business problems to provide applications on the right platforms for contrasting business needs. Dell believes these enterprise drivers direct the future of IT service delivery increasingly towards a value added integrator model enabled by Cloud.”
Microsoft has a strong presence in the Strategic track, Chaired by Rob Fraser, Microsoft’s UK Cloud CTO. Mark Russinovich, Microsoft’s renowned Technical Fellow, will lead a Firestarter session examining Cloud and scale, providing insights into how Microsoft is building its platform for a Cloud future, and there will be a Microsoft Client Brainstorming Panel exploring the lessons learned and key strategies in moving to the Cloud.

“Microsoft’s commitment to help businesses succeed in a mobile-first, cloud-first world is underlined by the need to understand the future that Cloud is defining for companies of all sizes from startups to the largest enterprises. We’re proud to be key partners of Cloud World Forum as it’s a vital platform to connect with businesses and help them drive competitive advantage from cloud adoption” said Rob Fraser, Chief Technology Officer, Cloud, Microsoft UK.

Ewan Dalton, an Internet of Things specialist at Microsoft, will give a session providing a guide to the “Internet of Things” as part of the Transforming Cloud track and Rob Craft, Senior Director, Cloud Strategy, Microsoft, will deliver a masterclass on the Open Cloud.

“While Cloud computing has made huge strides in the past year toward becoming a mainstream business tool, lots of half-truths, mistruths, and good old-fashioned falsehoods are still swirling around with regard to the Cloud’s place in the enterprise,” said Bob Evans, Senior Vice President, Oracle Corporation. “Seeing past these myths is critical to making the right decisions about whether, when, and how to adopt Cloud-based solutions. That’s why I’ll be talking about them – the top 10 Cloud computing myths that we’d like to dispel.”

Oracle and Microsoft UK will also take part in the event’s co-located Big Data World Congress agenda, a one-stop-shop for harvesting the power of infinite data. Microsoft’s Dave Coplin will present “The Rise of the Humans”, his vision for the impact of big data & machine intelligence on our lives.

The technology giants have been at the forefront of the evolution of Cloud and will also be showcasing their latest innovations on the show floor, joining over 250 companies as part of the event’s world-class exhibition.

The Cloud World Forum will take place on 17-18 June 2014, at the Olympia National, London, UK. Boasting an impressive agenda with more than 300 speakers participating from 74 countries, the event is EMEA’s largest and most comprehensive Cloud event.