This collaboration is content driven, and will start with participation in each other’s events, including AATC, May 7-9, 2013 in San Francisco and the EuroCloud Congress, October 15-16, 2013 in Luxembourg. Furthermore, mutual working councils will be established to address global topics on Trust, Security & Compliance and other relevant subjects in order to drive international acceptance of SaaS and Cloud services.

“A first important step has been made in cross-Atlantic activities that support the Industry in gaining Trust & Compliance on a more global scale,” said Frits Veltink, Liaison Officer EuroCloud to SIIA.

The Collaboration is effective immediately. The first membership benefits are due at SIIA’s AATC event in May, where EuroCloud members will be welcomed with a special program.

Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA. Follow the Software team on Twitter at @SIIASoftware.

This year’s conference will focus on the cloud marketplace’s most significant issues and trends – including risk management and cybersecurity, data analytics, new cloud and mobile monetization methods, social media utilization, and more.  Through keynote speeches, panel discussions, and company presentations, the event will explore how the cloud is revolutionizing the development, consumption, and delivery of software.

Keynote speakers include:

• Adrian Cockcroft—Director of Architecture, Cloud Systems, Netflix

“The Netflix Open Source Cloud Platform”

Cockcroft will provide an overview of Netflix’s cloud strategy and the company’s efforts to provide a complete cloud-based platform that can be adopted and customized by anyone who is looking for a highly scalable and robust solution.  He will also discuss the recently announced Netflix Cloud Prize effort to encourage external contributions.

• Margaret Dawson—Vice President of Product Marketing & Cloud Evangelist, HP Cloud Services

“Future of Cloud: Will Diseconomies of Scale Break the Silver Lining”

Using examples of untapped capacity and continued increase in power costs, Dawson will discuss how the centralized cloud model’s infrastructure does not create economies of scale.  In this “white board” session, the audience will evaluate their own infrastructure and data challenges and consider unconventional IT solutions.

• Joe Weinman—Founder and Author of Cloudonomics and Senior Vice President, Telx

“Rethinking Cloud and IT Value”

Weinman will argue that IT and cloud computing are strategically necessary for success and even survival in today’s business world.  He says IT and the cloud– complemented by mobility and big data– can form the basis for strategic differentiation in an era of global hyper-competition.

All About the Cloud will also feature:

• NextGen: Spotlight on Cloud Innovators. SIIA’s 2013 NextGen companies, ranging from software application companies to technology providers, represent the most innovative companies transforming the software and services industry. Attendees will have an early look at cutting-edge technologies, as well as new strategic partnership and investment prospects.

• CODiEs: Industry’s Only Peer-Selected Tech Awards. The 2013 SIIA CODiE Award winners will be announced during a special awards presentation at All About the Cloud. The CODiE Awards, now in its 28^th year, have recognized more than 1,000 software and information companies for achieving excellence and continue to be the industry’s only peer-recognized awards program in the content, education, and software industries.  This year’s award program has been enhanced with new categories reflecting dramatic changes in the software and information industries.

View the complete schedule of events.

Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA. Follow the Software team on Twitter at @SIIASoftware.

Denys Emmert is the Public Policy intern at SIIA. He has a degree in marketing and political science from Florida State University.

The eighth annual conference will bring together industry-leading executives, prominent analysts, venture capitalists and members of the media to discuss revolutionary ways software is being developed, utilized, and delivered, as well as emerging trends in the quickly changing landscape of cloud computing. Topics will include the rapid and disruptive evolution of data analytics, leveraging social media to achieve a competitive advantage, new monetization methods for next-generation cloud and mobile solutions, risk management and cybersecurity, and much more.  Keynote speakers will include Joe Weinman, Author of Cloudonomics, Adrian Cockcroft, Director of Cloud Architecture at Netflix, and Margaret Dawson, VP, Product Marketing & Cloud Evangelist, HP Cloud Services.

AATC will also feature:

• NextGen: Spotlight on Cloud Innovators. SIIA’s 2013 NextGen companies, ranging from software application companies to technology providers, represent the most innovative companies transforming the software and services industry. Attendees will have an early look at cutting-edge technologies, as well as new strategic partnership and investment prospects.

• CODiEs: Industry’s Only Peer-Selected Tech Awards. The 2013 SIIA CODiE Award winners will be announced during a special awards presentation at All About the Cloud. The CODiE Awards, now in its 28^th year, have recognized more than 1,000 software and information companies for achieving excellence and continue to be the industry’s only peer-recognized awards program in the content, education, and software industries.  This year’s award program has been enhanced with new categories reflecting dramatic changes in the software and information industries.

Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA. Follow the Software team on Twitter at @SIIASoftware.

Much of the discussion about market disruption has focused on large, brand name businesses, but there is tremendous innovation taking place at companies that get little attention. NextGen companies– chosen by a Selection Committee comprised of M&A, VC and advisory executives–are young businesses that offer innovative software and services. The CEOs of these companies will participate in the “Next Generation of Cloud” panels during All About the Cloud.

The 2013 SIIA All About the Cloud NextGen companies are as follows:

Armor5 Inc. has a unique approach to solving some of the most challenging security and compliance problems in enterprise today – migration of corporate assets from intranet to cloud and increased use of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) into the workplace.

Appnomic Systems is a leading provider of preventive IT performance management and automation solutions enabling IT Operations to avoid major IT incidents, improve mean time to repair, increase IT staff productivity, and achieve new levels of compliance.

DICOM Grid a leading provider in cloud-based medical image exchange, DICOM Grid transforms the way healthcare systems worldwide share, manage, and store medical images. By leveraging ongoing advances in information technology and adapting them to healthcare, DICOM Grid solves a critical challenge in diagnostic imaging.

GoSpotCheck provides a mobile solution for retail companies to help improve their field reporting & intelligence. We provide a unique solution that enables these companies to get real-time & structured data from the field, improving the processes and understanding of their operations.

Integrate is the first advertising technology provider that empowers media buyers to plan, launch, analyze, and optimize marketing campaigns across performance, digital and traditional media. Integrate’s AdHQ offers marketers an end-to-end solution that supports the entire lifecycle of paid media campaigns in one intuitive dashboard.

PlaceIQ is a leading provider of location intelligence, enabling advertisers to reach and define mobile brand audiences at scale for a wide range of marketing activities. Working with agencies, brands, and channel partners, PlaceIQ deploys proprietary, patent-pending big data science to aggregate and analyze extensive amounts of location data from multiple sources. The resulting intelligence gives marketers an unprecedented understanding of consumer behavior, while offering a privacy-friendly way to define, locate, reach and measure mobile audiences.

Shopping Cart Elite is for online retailers who are dissatisfied with the limitation of their Shopping Cart, Shopping Cart Elite is a sophisticated shopping cart that will completely automate your business. We have created a system that doesn’t require you to pay thousands of dollars to App partners to have marketing and SEO tools for your business, we made a great product and bundled it all into one complete turnkey package.

Techcello is a ready to use application development framework stack on top of .NET that saves 90-150 people months of effort. Established ISVs, New SaaS Product companies,  Large multi-national Enterprises, BPOs, HROs and KPOs use Techcello to build .NET solutions with a configurable Multi-tenant architecture that can be scaled on a Private or Public Cloud.

VoloMetrix’s Social Enterprise Intelligence application applies privacy filters and then analyzes anonymous, real-time information from corporate email, calendar, instant messaging, and social platforms to provide deep actionable insights into the ways teams are spending their time on the most important business priorities.

xTuple business management software gives growing companies control over operations and profitability. xTuple integrates all critical functional areas in one modular system: sales, accounting and operations — including customer and supplier management, inventory control, manufacturing and distribution — the powerful tools to Grow Your World®.

Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA. Follow the Software team on Twitter at @SIIASoftware.

To assemble “Deciphering Finance,” SIIA approached some of the software industry’s most innovative financial executives. Participants discuss how technology is re-shaping the finance industry and corporate finance operations, and most also specifically address the impact of  cloud computing – including the use of cloud-based tools for new strategies, business models, data analytics and even cash flow management. The resulting publication is a resource for finance executives looking to better utilize technology to keep their companies competitive in the marketplace. Grant Thornton LLP provided questions for participating executives as well as an analysis of their responses.

While it’s obvious that technology is changing corporate finance, it’s much more difficult to get a handle on how the benefits of these changes can be fully realized. We brought together some of the smartest, most tech savvy finance executives to sort out the value of cloud computing and other tech developments, and provide real-world insight and guidance. If there’s one message contained in ‘Deciphering Finance,’ it’s that CFOs can leave behind their static spreadsheets and find a host of new opportunities on the cloud.

In his contribution to the report, Ron Gill – CFO of NetSuite – writes:

“A substantial gap has opened up between the goals of the finance organization—such as establishing clear business visibility, maintaining an effective internal control structure and process, and ensuring efficient GAAP conformance – and what IT can provide from the current systems. There simply isn’t any budget left for innovation. Cloud delivery changes this equation because businesses are able to recoup 50% or more of their IT application operating costs by making the transition. No more servers, databases, backups, failover, patches, and upgrades. It frees up IT resources to move from an operational role to a strategic role.”

In his foreword to “Deciphering Finance, Steven Perkins – National Managing Director, Technology Industry Practice for Grant Thornton LLP – writes:

“The cloud is accelerating the expansion of deep functionality to support financial operations – as well as dramatically reducing the time-to-implementation. For CFOs historically mired in spreadsheets, the cloud offers the accuracy, scalability, and a platform for global collaboration, enabling strategic insight.”

Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA. Follow the Software team on Twitter at @SIIASoftware. ]]> http://www.siia.net/blog/index.php/2013/04/new-siia-report-software-cfos-say-cloud-is-now-vital-to-finance-operations/feed/ 0 http://www.siia.net/blog/index.php/2013/03/siia-urges-support-for-legislation-to-reform-ecpa-as-house-subcommittee-examines-cloud-privacy/ http://www.siia.net/blog/index.php/2013/03/siia-urges-support-for-legislation-to-reform-ecpa-as-house-subcommittee-examines-cloud-privacy/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:03:21 +0000 Ken Wasch http://www.siia.net/blog/?p=10647 SIIA called for a level playing field for cloud computing as the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations prepares for a hearing tomorrow regarding reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

We have seen tremendous technological advances in communications and computing technology since 1986, when ECPA was enacted. The legal framework provided by this outdated statue leaves both providers and users of remote computing with a complex and baffling set of rules. These rules are both difficult to explain and to apply in this age of networked and cloud computing.

SIIA urges members of the Judiciary Committee to work with all deliberate speed to enact legislation creating a warrant requirement for law enforcement access to remotely stored electronic content.  It is critical to level the playing field for information Americans store in the cloud, ensuring that it receives the same protection as the information they store in their homes.

Ken Wasch is President of SIIA. Follow the SIIA Software team on twitter at @SIIASoftware.

This webinar will provide insight into the results of the survey including how marketers have changed their focus over the course of the year. You will learn the metrics marketers are watching to determine ROI of marketing activities and the areas where marketers continue to face challenges. Following an overview of the marketing survey results, you will hear from Marketo and SoftServe who will share their marketing strategies and best practices for ROI.

Click on the links below to view a copy of each presenters slides:

SIIA
Marketing Report Overview

SoftServe
Keys to Marketing Success

Marketo
5 Secrets to Marketing Success

Presenters
Rhianna Collier
Vice President, Software Division, SIIA

Mary Brandon
Vice President, Marketing, SoftServe

Jason Miller
Social Media Manager, Marketo

Webinar Description
Software Defined Network introduces a new breed of computer network that exists only as software so that you can control it independently of the physical switches and routers running beneath it. Apart from hardware independence, SDN promises better scale and provides a single point of control for all network policy. With the network being virtualized, it now becomes possible to deliver a data center that can be delivered as a service. The control and management of the data center can by automated by software. In this talk we discuss the current developments in software defined networks and software defined data centers, what users can achieve today and identify challenges that they may face.

Featured Presenters:
Seema Jethani
Director of Product Management, EnStratus

Vanessa Alvarez
Cloud Thought Leader & Director of Product Marketing, Gridstore

USPS moves ahead with cloud ID management program: The US Postal Service continues to solicit proposals for a cloud-based ID credentialing hub pilot project. The program seeks a software-as-a-service solution that would provide access to non-government providers of ID credentials who have been approved under the Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) initiative. Responses are due February 11th. GCN has more.

OFPP to push contractor past performance reviews: The Office of Federal Procurement Policy announced an aggressive effort to ensure that all contractor past performance information is entered into the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), aiming for 100 percent compliance by 2015. The effort comes on the heels of a recent report from DOD that showed only 67.5 percent of required contractor reviews at DOD were added to the system. By making this push OFPP hopes to achieve better outcomes for taxpayers by ensuring that contracting officers better understand specific contractor performance. Read more.

Dell announces Project Ophelia cloud key: This week Dell announced what they are calling a cloud key, which looks to me like an operating system in a flash drive. The idea is to allow you to carry your desktop functionality with you and plug into any device with an HDMI jack, allowing you access to what is now only available on your desktop or laptop. GCN asks whether this is the future of remote computing.

Michael Hettinger is VP for the Public Sector Innovation Group (PSIG) at SIIA. Follow his PSIG tweets at @SIIAPSIG.