How is the weather today? Is it still "Cloudy"? While on-demand computing is an outgrowth of data centers, timesharing, and virtualization, the essence of IT is u ndoubtedly Cloud Computing. The last year has yielded a more mature cloud marketplace, offering SLAs a wide range of services as well as standardization. Traditional enterprise vendors have launched their cloud strategies, forcing companies of all shapes and sizes to take extra attention to the weather forecast. Long-term strategic thinking and planning seems be the No.1 leadership competency CIOs should embrace.

This high-energy opening keynote will look into where we are today and how CIOs together with cloud computing is quickly closing the adoption gap. Let's check the coordinates of CIOs on this new roadmap.

With the rise of consumer technology in the enterprise and the business's insatiable appetite for IT, the CIO's job is only getting harder and hard. It is merely the beginning of another tough journey after the CIOs sign on the dotted line for any cloud deal. In this session, we will investigate their navigation menu.

Panel highlights:

• CIO in the Cloud - Obstacles or Opportunities?
• Hindrances to Hurdle when Implementing Cloud Technologies Across Businesses
• What to Look before You Leap to IT Transformation
• Maintaining high motivation levels to bring out the best out of in your staff
• Creating Organizational Readiness - Cloud as a Structural Change in Your Business
• Implementation Experiences of the Early Movers: Best Practices and Pitfalls

Cloud adoption is a must - no matter it is a small company establishing its internal private cloud or a huge corporate setting into the public cloud. It heralds an evolution of business that is no less influential than e-business. As cloud adoption is gaining industry momentum, the focus is turning increasingly toward practical application of this new computing model and how businesses can adopt the cloud in the context of their existing software portfolio. In what ways can CIOs bring out the best of all cloud utilities?

In this session, the speaker will delve into the benefits that the cloud offers and discuss, using production cases, how businesses can embrace the cloud strategically.

Cloud Computing has already gone beyond the IT boundary. Apart from the reduced cost and increased efficiency, it can also enhance the agility, resilience and thus empower the whole business. What started as an improved delivery model that helped drive IT costs down, Cloud Computing is now helping transform not only the way IT services are delivered, but also the businesses themselves. Under no circumstances should you doubt the potential of this virtual enterprise. In this session, the speaker will share with us his/her experience on Cloud Computing strategies and implementations and take a closer step and look further to the whole business picture outside the IT outer circle.

There's no substitute for experience. This panel of executives has built cloud-based applications, and we'll learn what they built, how it worked, and what special steps helped them take advantage of the cloud's unique properties.

• Key drivers for implementing Cloud Computing Technologies
• Background of Implemented Project: e.g. Project nature / scope and benefits achieved
• Key challenges and obstacles encountered
• TCO of Projects
• Lesson learned, best practices and future strategies to take advantage of the cloud's unique properties

Cloud computing promises to increase the speed and agility in which applications are deployed and consumed, at the same time increasing innovation opportunities, and lower operational costs. The overall effect in adoption of cloud computing be it internal or external cloud increases overall business agility. In building effective cloud solutions the server, storage, network, and virtualization technology that drives cloud computing environments must be well planned, built and operated as part of an overall strategic plan. The presentation discusses how cloud computing transforms the way we design, build, deliver applications and the architectural considerations that enterprises must make when adopting and using cloud computing technology. Dell in recent years have built a strong and effective portfolio for our customers adopting virtualisation and building private cloud solutions, in addition Dell is helping cloud providers build modern competitive capabilities in delivering cloud services. In the presentation we will examine the many cloud solutions that are available from Dell globally and understand how effective planning can optimize the journey to the cloud.

A visionary Panel comprises of cloud computing industry leaders will discuss the trends we're seeing in cloud computing, what the next year holds, and how the cloud ecosystem is evolving. We'll look at standards, latest regulation, and reveal what cloud issues will be at the top of enterprise IT's list in 2011.

• How the Cloud ecosystem is evolving
• Cloud issues on the top of enterprise IT's list in 2011
• Trends for the next 5 years
• How the industry is addressing users' concerns in Cloud Computing