Cloud Connect 2013
Santa Clara, CA
Santa Clara Convention Center
April 2 – 5, 2013
Attendance: 3,000+
Exhibitors: 64
Media and Analysts: 80
Calysto Overview
One of the main shows for cloud issues and technologies for the enterprise is Cloud Connect Santa Clara 2013, a proven event for IT professionals and a growing number of developers and managers. This year’s Silicon Valley show was held over four days and drew approximately 3,000 attendees. Discussions centered around the tendency toward the private cloud in the enterprise, the growing willingness for enterprises to consider open source solutions and the disparity between enterprise buyers and cloud providers on what’s driving cloud adoption. And, of course, Big Data was also, well… big. For the second year, the Cloud Connect and Everest Group Enterprise Cloud Adoption Survey was released as well. Keynotes were presented by executives from Cisco; PayPal; General Electric; VMware; Warner Music Group; Mitel; Hummer Winblad Venture Partners; Red Hat; Citrix Systems; CloudOps; SoftLayer; HP; Rackspace; Telx; and Xu Yiling, Shanghai Promotion Center of Software Industry and Deputy Secretary General of the Cloud Sea Organization. Conference tracks were organized around the core functions of cloud computing and technologies to improve business practices: application design and architecture; Big Data; private and hybrid clouds; risk management and security; ROI, TCO and cloud economics; futures and disruptions; infrastructure; mobile cloud; organizational readiness; performance and availability; SaaS; software-defined data center; and WAN and cloud networking. There were also deep dive workshops for attendees on basic and advanced cloud concepts, Big Data, and navigating PaaS. This year, TechCrunch’s Alex Williams was less than thrilled with some of the conference sessions, calling them “too polite,” and lamented, “That’s the problem with these vendor-oriented conferences. They suck the passion out of what is a super-fascinating space. Here we are at a time when there is more disruption in the enterprise than in the past 20 years. But today, I saw the coolest group of executives talking in hushed tones….on message.” Takeaway: no vendor pitches during sessions! Session attendees want information, not a marketing spiel. Media. For an event of this size, the media representation was good. According to UBM Tech, more than 80 industry media, analysts and bloggers attended, including Forbes, TechCrunch, Slashdot, CRN, GigaOM, InformationWeek, Gartner, Light Reading, TechTarget and more. (Contact Marissa Evans to learn how to take advantage of the press opportunities at your next conference) The social media stats were good as well. Over an 18 week period, Facebook likes grew by 4.42 percent and Twitter followers grew by 15.85 percent. By the end of March, there were 4,253 Facebook likes and 11,489 Twitter followers. Exhibitors. This year there were more than 60 exhibitors, including Cisco, Ciena, Comcast, HP, IBM, Mitel, Oracle, Rackspace, Red Hat, F5, SoftLayer, VMware and others. Cisco, VMware and SoftLayer had larger booths this year and new this year were Oracle, Akamai, Nebula, Mitel, and Hughes Cloud Services. Wrap up. Launched in 2010, the Cloud Connect events produced by UBM Tech are good venues for those in the cloud ecosystem, with plenty of media relations opportunities, as well as networking, lead generation, and speaking. From GigaOM’s analyst David Linthicum: “First, the conference was crowded but the hype level was low. Most end user organizations were there to learn how to carry out a cloud migration, but now know full well what cloud computing means. Most of the providers have moved on to more sophisticated messages.” From CIO: “It’s remarkable how the tone at Cloud Connect in Silicon Valley has changed over the years. The conference has turned from cheerleading to nuts and bolts. This means it’s less fun, but it’s also more grounded in the day-to-day realities of implementing change instead of envisioning utopia. Many presentations focus on real-world use cases and concrete action steps, with a strong focus on hybrid cloud computing.” From TechCrunch: “Cloud Connect attracted a lot of people I wish I could see every day. I rely on them for insights and news about the market… I did find some good stories this week here in Santa Clara. But when it came to the actual event, it was anemic. And that’s too bad. So, please vendors, take off your mask and tell us what drives you. Tell us about your passion. And don’t worry about being polite. I promise you will be remembered far more than if you skirt around questions, stay on message, and keep your opinions to yourself.” Next:Cloud Connect Chicago, October 21 – 24, 2013 at the McCormick Place, to be held alongside a new event: The Big Data Conference.
Articles of Interest
Netflix’s 5 Secrets For Maximizing Amazon Cloud Value Information Week By Charles Babcock April 9, 2013 What Cloud Computing Means For the Future of IT Organizations CIO By Bernard Golden April 09, 2013 Observations from Cloud Connect GigaOM By David Linthicum April 8, 2013 Two Views of the Cloud: End Users and Enterprise IT IT World By Paul Kapustka April 8, 2013 2013 Cloud Connect Part I: Highlights & Mobile Cloud Issues The Viodi View By Alan Weissberger April 9, 2013 Honey, That’s Just Your Genome Talking Wired By Chris Taylor, Tibco April 8, 2013 Cloud Connect Is Too Polite, And That’s The Problem With Vendor Conferences TechCrunch Alex Williams April 4, 2013 Photos: A Cloud Connect Fly-By LightReading By Craig Matsumoto April 4, 2013 7 Things We Learned at Cloud Connect LeverHawk.com By Scott Bils April 8, 2013 Cloud Connect: The ‘Zen’ Of Cloud Computing CRN By Ken Presti April 04, 2013