Could Computing World Forum 12th - 13th July 2012 /Earls court - London

Unique Networking Opportunities

 Creating new connections, developing business leads and meeting the right people is a vital part of the conference experience.

That’s why, at the Cloud Computing World Forum 2012, we’re making your networking our number one focus, giving you maximum opportunity to meet people relevant to your business, and putting you in touch with fellow IT decision-makers and potential clients.
Featuring on the unique networking program will be:
Online networking tool
A web-based forum launched 4 weeks before the show, allowing attendees to communicate and arrange meetings with one another
Meet and Greet
A pre-show drinks gathering held on the evening before the show, the 11th June 2012. A chance to meet fellow attendees and collect your conference pass in advance to skip the queues the next day.
Breakfast Club
Discuss cloud computing over coffee and croissants with our conference breakfast club. Held between 8 and 9am on both mornings of the show, you’ll get to meet with fellow delegates in our networking lounge and ask questions you have for the show alongside peers.
Passport to Prizes
With a selection of prizes on offer at various sponsor booths on the exhibition floor, your Passport to Prizes will provide the chance to get acquainted with top show sponsors, while giving yourself the opportunity to win a number of great tech gifts in the process.
Twitter Wall
Tweet meeting requests, make product queries and start discussions via the Cloud Computing World Forum Twitter wall. Watch the conversations unfold on our big screen – just remember to #ccwf
Working Lunch
We understand the increasingly diverse nature of the topics that cloud computing encompasses, so at this year’s forum our Working Lunch will be divided into table topics, allowing Gold and Diamond Pass holders to book onto a specific table and meet fellow delegates with a focused interest similar to your own.
Happy Hour
Complimentary drinks for an hour via a special announcement at the show, and a great chance to meet fellow delegates and sponsors to network.
Hall Reception and Drinks
Held between 4.30pm and 6pm, we'll be holding a sponsored drinks reception in our Networking Lounge on the first day of the show.
Awards Party
To commemorate the 3rd Cloud Computing World Series Awards, we’ll be holding a free-to-attend ceremony on the first evening of the show, where we’ll be announcing the winners of the prestigious awards and giving you an opportunity to enjoy drinks with fellow attendees.
Further details of all our networking opportunities will be mailed to attendees in the build-up to the show.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has matured from buzzword to a dynamic infrastructure used today by thousands of organizations. Leading analysts, including thought leaders from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC agree that this new model of computing offers significant advantages for fast-paced start-ups, Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) and enterprises alike.
Today, forward-thinking business leaders are using the cloud within their enterprise data centres to take advantage of the best practices that cloud computing has established, namely:

•    scalability,
•    agility,
•    automation, and
•    resource sharing.

By using a cloud-enabled application platform, companies can choose a hybrid approach to cloud computing that employs an organization's existing infrastructure to launch new cloud-enabled applications. This hybrid approach allows IT departments to focus on innovation for the business, reducing both capital and operational costs and automating the management of complex technologies.
Cloud Computing Defined
In its simplest form, cloud computing consists of shared computing resources that are virtualized and accessed as a service, through an Application Programming Interface (API). The physical resources may reside in a number of locations inside and outside of an organization:

•    on local hardware,
•    in an enterprise data centre, or
•    at remote or managed service provider’s on a pay-for-use basis.

Cloud computing resources are offered as a service on an as-needed basis, and delivered by the Internet (IP-based connectivity), providing highly scalable, reliable on-demand services with agile management capabilities.