In partnership with CloudNOW, the SIIA and CloudNOW webinar series features thought leadership and best practices from some of the greatest minds in the industry.

Companies are looking for ways to drive lasting marketplace advantage, with innovation becoming the key driver of business success. In this pre-recorded webcast, Vanessa Alvarez, Cloud Thought Leader & Director of Product Marketing at Gridstore talks with Lauren States, Vice President, CTO, IBM Corporate Strategy in an interview format.  They explore how cloud and this new era of computing is fostering innovation and changing the structure of businesses and markets, and how the use of cloud technologies can enable IT to move out of the data center and into the fabric of the business.

About the Presenters:

Lauren States
As Vice President, Technology Strategy, Growth Initiatives and CTO for Cloud Computing on the IBM Corporate Strategy team, Lauren is responsible for the technology strategy for IBM’s growth initiatives, including cloud computing, Smarter Planet, business analytics and emerging markets. In her previous role in the IBM Software Group, Lauren engaged directly with clients to deliver leading edge cloud solutions globally. She joined IBM as a systems engineer after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

Vanessa Alvarez
Vanessa Alvarez is the director of product marketing and an accomplished technology professional. Alvarez focuses on the go to market strategy for Gridstore’s award winning solution, the Grid. Previously, Alvarez was an analyst with Forrester Research, focused on next generation enterprise infrastructure and emerging technologies. She advised Fortune 500 enterprises on how to best leverage their IT environment to enable their competitive advantage, through the deployment of emerging technologies and operational models.