2010 Cloud Computing Congress Europe
A Look Back

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For several years this was the official site for the Cloud Computing Congress Europe. The show was eventually incorporated into SMWF and Apps World Series.
Content is from the 2010 show, Shaping the Future of Cloud Computing, which was held from March 15-16 in Olympia, London.

 

WHY ATTEND

• Establish and Develop a strong partnership program

• Exchange information on innovative Cloud Technologies

• Hear what leading Cloud Computing Providers have to say

• How can Cloud Computing benefit your business, from a small start up to a leading brand

• Meet and network with End users, IT professionals, Leading IT providers and vendors

• What are the risks of entering ‘The Cloud’

• Leverage competitive advantage from our other conference stream: Social Media World Forum, Social TV, Mobile Social Media & Enterprise

• Listen and get an insight to future of Cloud

 

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Show highlights include:

• 2 days of free workshops and exhibitions over 15th/16th March, 1 day Cloud Conference on 16th March
• Building partnerships in the Cloud ecosystem: Free exhibition and workshops designed to build partnerships between systems integrators, application providers, OEM partners, distributors, and service providers.
• Designed for the CIO and IT manager the Cloud Computing Congress event & conference examines SaaS, PaaS, software the technical challenges, and how to the applications outlined in Enterprise Social Media can be controlled and managed in the Cloud?
• A practical guide on cloud computing for your business - how your business can benefit, the value proposition, and the impact on the IT function
• Building and managing applications in the cloud - how to manage and control applications and resources in the cloud environment? Learn from key cloud computing deployments - their successes and failures?
• Learn from key cloud computing deployments - their successes and failures, and how far the market has come so far?
• Two days of free to attend workshops at the show, focusing on building strategic industry alliances, partnerships, etc – workshops currently include Microsoft (Azure), Rackspace, CA, Netbiscuits, Informatica, GenieDB any many more... We  have also partnered with CloudStorm, a European Cloud Summit, presented by Cloud Solutions Providers covering the latest trends and products in Cloud Computing     
• Examine the current state of the market - from CIO's and cloud vendors - to understanding the clear ROI that cloud services provide?
• Free to attend exhibition passes available with workshops - click here to attend
• To book at a place on the Cloud Computing Congress or Enterprise Social Media event - click here , or call the booking line on +44 (0) 117 946 8876
• bullet1 Co-located conference streams include:Social Media World Forum, Enterprise Social Media, Social TV, Mobile Social Media.

 

 

 

 

"I attended this conference because my brother was working at the venue and he thought that our small online store might benefit from some of the knowledge being passed around during the talks. We run code for a Batman themed t shirt shop where we have some of the best t shirt displays online. I was especially intrigued by the discussions of the risks of being in the cloud on a multi-tenant system, where it's been suggested there might be some security issues if that system were hacked or if a software glitch introduced a vulnerability. We create our own backend tools that help us address housekeeping issues and forensics on site performance, etc. But after hearing from the experts, I'm pretty convinced that a cloud environment is just as safe as any other implementation - the real security is provided by the server/system management. Our Batman themed store would be just as secure as in a dedicated or even shared hosting environment provided the host was properly paying attention to the best practices guidelines. We plan to consider taking our Batman shirts into the cloud and testing the capabilities of a multi-tenant platform especially for the convenience of multinode management and better colocation prospects." Robin (the Joker) Styles

 

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SCHEDULE

Day One - 15th March

1000-1100	BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
	Cloud computing in 2010 and beyond
	The impact of economic realities
	Is cloud different from existing computing?
	Challenges to consider in moving to cloud models?
	Secruity in the Cloud
	How is the model different for security?
	What new risks and threats might be faced?
	What can be done to deliver security in the cloud?
	What will the challenges be for assurance?
	Nick Coleman, Strategic Panel Member
1100-1130	Magic Software
	Introduction to Cloud Application Platform Development
	Connecting to different data sources on and off premise
	Developing business logic on and off premise
	Empowering end users
	Adding rich elements to your cloud solution
	Richard Runds Senior Technical Architect & Zeev Khazhdan Senior Technical Architect
1130- 1215	CA
	Building a Private Cloud
	The idea of Cloud Computing is not new. But the required bandwidth and other key technologies such as virtualisation and data center automation have only recently become available at somewhat affordable cost. In the session we look at Cloud Building Blocks, the key components enabling Could Computing. Key among these is of course virtualisation and automation. In this session we will not go too deep into the technical side of the story. We are trying to look at how the Cloud works, in order to be able to organise, manage and automate it.
	Chris Rae, EMEA Director - Automation Solutions & Tim Norman, Senior Principal Consultant
1215- 1300	Huddle
	Getting the best out of the cloud
	Andy McLoughlin, Co-Founder
1300-1330	Netbiscuits - 'Mobile Cloud Computing'
	Why Mobile & Cloud Computing is a perfect fit
	High-efficiency mobile Web and App development
	Choosing the right strategy for your mobilization
	Creating next generation mobile experiences
	Successful monetization: ads & transactions rule!
	Tools & tips to take development in-house
	Steffen Schlimmer, Head of Sales Europe
1330-1400	Siteforum
	Build a website with social networking for customers, employees and more
	Dirk Schlenzig , CEO
1400-1430	Surevine
	Discover how a joined-up approach to the deployment of Social Tools on your Intranet can increase innovation through unplanned collaboration, reduce the burden of chaotic e-mail communication, and enable the people in your organisation to connect faster and more accurately to the knowledge and people they need to in order to get the job done.
	Stuart Murdoch, Founder & Director
1430-1445	MangoSpring
	Bringing the social communication revolution to business
	The facebook imperative – How is your enterprise taking advantage of these profound changes?
	What are specific business problems?
	How do social networking paradigms solve these business problems?
	Experience Engage’s offering, benefits and differentiation
	Anup Kejriwal, CEO/Founder
	Paul Hanson, V.P. Product Marketing
1530-1730	CloudStorm @ Cloud Computing Congress
	The popular Cloud Summit 'CloudStorm' will be held again in London on the 15th March, co-located at the Cloud Computing Congress.  At CloudStorm, you will receive in 100 minutes an update of the latest trends and products in Cloud Computing, followed by a expo and networking opportunity @ the Cloud Computing Congress.
	5 minutes Cloud Vendor presentations on the newest trends in Cloud Computing
	Showing the real solutions and products
	An optimal mix on vendors: Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Platform, Load Balancers, etc
	Drinks and light snacks during and after the presentations
	Networking, the key in this event!

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Day Two - 16th March

 

9.30-10.00	Mimecast
	The cost impact of moving email management to the cloud
	Discover the seven ways of saving on email infrastructure by avoiding the costs of on premise archiving. This session will review the essential facts from Forrester Consulting research conducted on behalf of Mimecast. The “Total Economic Impact” research on Mimecast's Unified Email Management solution examines the return on investment of moving email management to the cloud
	Tim Pickard, Chief Marketing Officer, Mimecast
1100-1130	Microsoft
	Cloud Computing with Windows Azure
	The Windows Azure PaaS offering from Microsoft enables applications built in .NET, Java, Ruby,  PhP, SQL Server, MySQL and more to be run on Microsoft Data Centers. Learn what Azure is capable of doing and why, how and when you should adopt it.
	Eric Nelson - Cloud Evangelist
12.00-12.30	CohesiveFT
	How to move your applications to the cloud with ease and confidence.
	The issues and concerns with cloud computing and how CohesiveFT have helped organisations large and small adopt public, private and hybrid clouds.
	What is slowing the adopting of cloud computing today.
	How can you resolved these issues.
	Chris Purrington, VP International
12.30-13.00	GenieDB
	Workshop Title: "Scaling Your Web App: Work with your database. Don't work around it."
	Common roadblocks to database scaling for web services inside or outside of the cloud & Different approaches to resolve them
	John Rainey, President (Europe) & Priya Chandran, Software Engineer
13.00-13.30	Rackspace
	Cup of Tea and a slice of Cloud!
	You have heard of the hype, but what’s the cloud like in real life?
	To test how quickly the cloud can really work, Rackspace will build a cloud website in the time it takes to make a cup of tea!
	In this workshop you will get to see a demonstration of Rackspace Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Storage as a Service offerings
	Matthew Johns, Product Marketing & Russell Clark, Cloud Evangelist
1330-1400	Magic Software
	Freedom - A Practical Demonstration for hybrid & mobile cloud computing
	Develop once for any deployment mode
	Expand core functionality to mobile devices for the cloud
	Collaborate between on-premise, off-premise and mobile users
	Richard Runds Senior Technical Architect & Zeev Khazhdan Senior Technical Architect
1400-1430	Surevine
	Discover how a joined-up approach to the deployment of Social Tools on your Intranet can increase innovation through unplanned collaboration, reduce the burden of chaotic e-mail communication, and enable the people in your organisation to connect faster and more accurately to the knowledge and people they need to in order to get the job done.
	Stuart Murdoch, Founder & Director, Surevine
14.30-15.00	Informatica
	Integration: The Key Ingredient to Success in the Cloud
	Gartner has called cloud computing the #1 strategic technology initiative in 2010. But as adoption of applications, platforms and infrastructure as a service grows, IT organizations are increasingly focusing on integration as the key ingredient to success in the cloud. This interactive session will provide an overview of the Informatica Cloud and outline a number of use cases, customer success stories and best practices for data integration delivered as a cloud-based service
	Andy Bromley, Sales Manager - Informatica Cloud EMEA
15.00-15.30	CA
	The results are in!  Where do you stand with the current thinking on Virtualisation, Automation and the Cloud?
	Join CA to examine and discuss recent UK survey results which put the adoption of virtualisation and associated IT processes in the spotlight.  Compare yourself to your peers and discuss the inhibitors and challenges to growth in this area, IT maturity and expectations as well as the business use cases which are driving take-up.  How do you fare in your preparation for the internal cloud – how relevant is it to your business and how can you progress successfully?
	Chris Rae, EMEA Director - Automation Solutions & Tim Norman, Senior Principal Consultant
1530-1600	Mimecast
	A brief History of the Future - Entering the Cloud Computing Era
	How innovation has historically helped organisations progress and how a new wave of innovation in the cloud will impact business growth globally. Why businesses need to embrace the cloud computing era – or get left behind, and illustrations of the benefits of this new on-demand approach and the flexibility it brings to businesses.
	Ken Greene, Director – Technical Consultancy EMEA

 

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Speakers

Phil Dunne, Cloud Essentials Specialist, Salesforce.Com Phil Dunne has been a dedicated Salesforce.Com evangelist, touring the UK with our enterprise cloud computing CRM Essentials road show. Phil joined the company from SAP/Business Objects in 2007. Having championed the use of Salesforce.Com within Business Objects saw the huge market shift to the cloud.

David Terrar, CEO, D2C Limited and Chair of Intellect SaaS Group David heads up D2C, a consulting firm which provides business and social media consulting as well as Cloud based solutions for accounting, content, collaboration, and web publishing.    He is Vice Chair of the UK's Intellect Software as a Service Group, and a director of EuroCloud UK.     Andy Steven, Enterprise Cloud Architect, VMware Andy is responsible for discussing the “Enterprise Cloud”  journey with EMEA VMware customers, he has over 8 years virtualisation experience and has been involved in small to very large VMware deployments. Key experience has been in regulated computing environments and the processes that need to change in the data centre for a successful deployment. Previous positions in VMware have included Senior Evangelist, before that Andy was a customer of VMware virtualising data centres all over the world for a large multinational organisation.   Phil Wainewright, CEO Procullux Ventures, VP EuroCloud and ZDNet blogger on SaaS Since 1998, Phil Wainewright has been a thought leader in cloud computing as a blogger, analyst and consultant. His newest role as an industry advocate is as vice-president of EuroCloud. He is best known for his Software as Services blog on ZDNet, and also blogs on The Connected Web at eBizQ, covering topics from cloud to social media.

Mark Briggs, CIO, Essex County Council

Mark is currently CIO of Essex County Council. He joined ECC as a consultant in May 2006 and was appointed CIO just over a year ago. His major achievement at Essex to date has been overseeing the successful in-sourcing of their IT operation, which was outsourced to BT Global Services, without any significant issues or problems.

Mostafa Afifi, Virtualisation Engineer, Morgan Stanley

Mostafa Afifi is Virtualisation Engineer at Morgan Stanley, where he balances his time between selling Virtualisation & Cloud Computing’s benefits, and engineering a solution that can meet the demands of a very competitive business.  His focus has been on business cases, return on investment, and on ensuring that virtualisation brings operational benefits.

Stephan Haux, Senior Product Manager – EMEA, Iron Mountain Digital

Stephan Haux is Senior Product Manager for EMEA at Iron Mountain Digital. Haux oversees EMEA activities for determining market requirements, for going to market across Iron Mountain Digitals product and service portfolio. Haux frequently speaks at events, briefs journalists and engages with the analyst community in all parts of the world. Before Haux joined Iron Mountain held various international positions at SAS for example as Team Leader and Product Manager.

Phil Dean, IT Strategy Manager, Cisco Europe

Phil Dean has worked for Cisco for fifteen years and is responsible for Cisco’s technology vision and architectures in Cisco’s European Theatre. Phil started his career as an electronics engineer at EMI in the team which developed the x-ray CT scanner but has since worked in the IT and communications industry for over 20 years in management roles across product development, product management and IT strategy.

Jason Hart, Senior Vice President, CRYPTOCard

As a former ethical hacker with seventeen years experience in the Information Security industry, Jason has used his knowledge and expertise to create technologies that ensure organisations stay one step ahead of the security game.  Jason continues to raise the profile of Information Security risks and solutions, including the introduction of the term CSO (Chief Security Officer) within business.

Boris Devouge, Sales Engineer, Canonical

With over five years of field experience working with customers on Linux-based implementations in the UK and Europe, Boris Devouge is an expert in virtualization, cloud technologies and migrations. Prior to joining Canonical, Boris worked as a senior solution architect at Red Hat and a technical support engineer at Hewlett-Packard.

Scott Dobson, Managing Director, Cloud Distribution Ltd

A well connected, experienced and highly motivated industry professional with over 20 years of experience selling complex, high margin communications solutions to enterprise clients via EMEA channels. These channels include Service Providers, PTT's, Telcos, distributors and Systems Integrators. Equally at home within a start-up or established vendor, Scott’s core skills are in building a team of aggressive individuals (sales, pre-sales, marketing etc.) to generate high yield in the shortest possible time frame throughout EMEA via the channels above.

Jon Beck, Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development, OpSource

An industry veteran of sixteen years, Mr. Beck currently manages the global sales, client services and business development teams at OpSource.  Prior to OpSource he served in various senior management positions at Critical Path, Netcom (acquired by EarthLink), Global Center (acquired by Exodus), and Genuity (acquired by Level 3 Communications) and most recently as COO at Pandora Networks, a leading VoIP messaging company where he managed marketing and field operations in the U.S. and U.K.

Tim Pickard, Chief Marketing Officer, Mimecast

Tim is an experienced networking and security industry expert who joined Mimecast from RSA Security where he held the position of Area Vice President, International Marketing. Prior to RSA he was Business Development Director for networking company 3Com. He is a forward thinking marketing leader with a track record of high performance in corporate strategy, marketing, sales channels and communications.

Simon Abrahams, EMEA Head of Product Marketing, Rackspace

Simon Abrahams is Head of Product Marketing for Rackspace EMEA, with ownership of the EMEA product strategy, market positioning, and delivery of all new products. In this role Simon is responsible for aligning Rackspace’s product innovation initiatives with the needs of European customers, as part of Rackspace’s Fanatical Support commitment.

David Akka, MD, Magic Software Enterprises UK, Eire & Nordics

Mr David Akka M.Sc, MBA, is the Managing Director of Magic Software Enterprises (UK) Ltd. Mr Akka has been with Magic Software since 1998 and is considered one of the organisation’s foremost authorities on Cloud computing and SOA methodologies. Prior to working with Magic Software, David held the position of CTO, Service Delivery Manager and worked in several Management Consulting roles.

Chris Rae, EMEA Director, Automation Solutions, CA

Chris Rae has been working in IT for over 20 years. He began his career as a lecturer in Mainframe PL1 programming techniques. After two years he moved into sales of Mainframe solutions where he first had exposure to Virtualisation. Over the length of his career he has gained experience in many diverse areas such as Mainframe Systems Management Tools, Distributed Systems Availability Technology, and SAP support solutions.

Dion Hinchcliffe

Dion Hinchcliffe is an internationally recognized business strategist and enterprise architect who has worked for over twenty years bringing innovative solutions to clients in the Global 2000, federal government, and Internet startup community.

Kenneth Verlage, CIO, DHL Express

Kenneth Verlage joined DHL in 1991 and has held numerous management positions within the DHL Group. His solid management skills combined with a hard won experience of strategic change projects have made him a highly regarded senior manager. In 2001 Kenneth went into a CIO role creating a totally re-designed IT-solution for DHL in the Nordics.

Adrian Steel, Head of Infrastructure Management, Royal Mail

Adrian has entered his 25th year inside the IT industry, his career thus far has been wide and varied...... Adrian's early career very much focussed on detail technical support of Local and Central Government majoring in Microsoft technology stacks, natually branching out and majoring on automation and toolsets providing significant inroads to reduce service outages and incident volumes.

Adrian Davey, Head of IT, Tube Lines

Adrian Davey is Head of IT for Tube Lines, a position he has held since 2005. Tube Lines maintains the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Northern lines on the London Underground as part of a 30 year PPP contract awarded in 2003.  Between them the lines carry over 1 million passengers per day. Adrian is accountable for the development of the IS and IT strategy and enabling technology to support the maintenance activities and upgrade programmes on the three lines. The focus over the last two years has been on information visibility using enterprise 2.0 technology approaches and Green IT.

Bill Ashraf, Director of Technology Enhanced Learning, University of Sussex

Bill Ashraf is Director of Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Sussex.  He is currently heading up the strategy at Sussex for e-/technology enhanced learning, student facing educational support technology and is the "owner" of the moodle based VLE.

Andrew Charlesworth, Director of the Centre for IT & Law, University of Bristol

Andrew Charlesworth is Reader in IT Law in the School of Law and Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, where he is the Director of the cross-disciplinary Centre for IT & Law. His key areas of research include data privacy, intellectual property, and e-commerce.

Eachan Fletcher, CIO, Sporting Index

Eachan spent his early career in consultancies where he indulged his fascination with technology in industries such as Insurance, Banking, Telecoms, and Defence.  His work delivered several Microsoft reference sites for enterprise integrations. Moving out of the corporate and into the web Eachan spent 5 years with Betfair as Chief Architect and leading development teams.  Since joining Sporting Index in 2009 as CIO he has been refreshing the technology stack with grid computing patterns and delivering new business-to-business products.

David Wilde, CIO, Westminster City Council

Currently CIO for Westminster City Council, David is driving forward an exciting new IS strategy based on the principles of customer centric service delivery, a   zero infrastructure technology environment and transformational change.

Paul James, CIO, Dstl - Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

Mr James joined the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in 1997 and is currently the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). As CIO, Mr James is responsible for Knowledge and Information Services (KIS) and the systems and processes that support KIS.  Mr James has been responsible for the transformation of Dstl’s knowledge and Information services and how these are delivered to enable the business and the wider MOD. Mr James has provided the transformational vision and successfully lead delivery of that transformation.

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Info Cloud Computing Congress

When?

15th and 16th March 2010, 08:00 am -17.30pm

Where?

Cloud Computing Congress, will be taking place at Olympia Conference Centre:

 

Olympia Conference Centre
Hammersmith Road
London
W14 8UX

 

EVENT HOTEL

Hilton London Olympia Hotel

380 Kensington High Street London W14 8NL, United Kingdom

We are pleased to have partnered with The Hilton London Olympia Hotel to offer all Cloud Computing Congress visitors a discounted room rate for the 14th, 15th & 16th March 2010.

We only have a limited number of rooms reserved, so we do recommend making your reservation soon!

Room Rates:

Hilton Guest Double/Twin

Single occupancy          £105.00 per room excluding VAT & English Breakfast

Double Occupancy        £115.00 per room excluding VAT & English Breakfast

To Book:

To take advantage of the above discounted room rates simply contact  Julie Allen on +44 (0) 207 856 1902 or email Julie.allen (@) hilton.com and quote ASNE.

If you do not quote this promotional code at the time of booking your will not receive the event hotel rate.

The Hilton London Olympia hotel on bustling Kensington High Street, 2 minutes' walk from Olympia Exhibition Centre with Heathrow Airport just 14 miles away.  The hotel has many facilities - contemporary Plum Grill, socialize at Plum Bar or watch the match at Plum Sports Lounge. The Hilton will also host the events pre networking get2gether on the evening of the 14th March within the Plum Bar.

How to get there?

By Tube
For all halls at Olympia, travel to Kensington Olympia on the District line from Earls Court station.

For the latest tube travel information go to: www.tfl.gov.uk

By Car
From M1/A1/M11/A10 take the A406 westbound to A4. Continue on A4 over Hammersmith Flyover, turn left onto the B317 (North End Road) and follow signs.

From M4/A4 follow directions as above.

From A3/M3 follow signs for central London, take Wandsworth or Putney Bridges.
From Wandsworth Bridge, turn left onto New Kings Road, turn right onto Fulham High Street, which becomes Fulham Palace Road. At Hammersmith roundabout turn right onto Hammersmith Road and follow signs.
From Putney Bridge, turn left onto Fulham Palace Road and follow directions as above.

From M2/M20/A2 follow signs to central London, take Blackfriars, London, Waterloo, Vauxhall, Southwark, Chelsea or Battersea Bridges, turn left along Embankment and follow signs.

From A12/A13 follow signs for central London towards Tower or London Bridge. Do not cross bridge, instead continue along Embankment and follow signs.

Click here for information about parking at Olympia.

By Air
Olympia is easily accessible from London’s four airports – Heathrow, Gatwick Stansted and City Airport – via underground and mainline rail services.
Heathrow Airport
Take the Piccadilly line to Earls Court. For Olympia, change onto the District Line to Kensington Olympia.

Alternatively take the Heathrow Express to Paddington and change onto the District Line to Earls Court.

General enquiries 0870 0000 123

www.baa.com/heathrow

Gatwick Airport
You can take the Gatwick Express to Victoria and change onto the District Line to Earls Court and Olympia.

Alternatively train services run through Clapham Junction where you can change onto a direct train to Earls Court or Kensington Olympia.

General enquiries 0870 000 2468

www.baa.com/gatwick

Stansted Airport
You can take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street and either take the central line to Holborn and change onto the Piccadilly line, or the Circle Line to Edgware Road and change onto the District Line to Earls Court.

General enquiries 0870 0000 303

www.baa.com/stansted

City Airport
Take the Docklands Light Railway from City Airport to Canning Town. Change onto the Jubilee Line Westbound to Westminster. At Westminster, change onto the District Line Westbound to Earls Court.

General enquiries: 020 7646 0088

www.londoncityairport.com

 

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More Background On CloudComputingCongress.com

 

During the late 2000s and early 2010s, cloud computing evolved from a niche concept discussed primarily among enterprise technologists into one of the defining forces shaping the future of global business and digital infrastructure. At the center of that transformation were conferences and forums that educated businesses, connected vendors with enterprise buyers, and helped define best practices for the rapidly growing cloud ecosystem. One of the most notable events during this era was Cloud Computing Congress Europe, whose official online presence was hosted at CloudComputingCongress.com.

The website functioned as the public face of the conference, providing information about speakers, workshops, travel logistics, exhibitors, sponsorships, and industry commentary. More importantly, it documented an important transitional moment in technology history when organizations were trying to understand whether cloud computing represented a temporary trend or a permanent shift in the way computing resources would be delivered and consumed.

Although the standalone conference eventually became integrated into larger event ecosystems such as the Social Media World Forum and later technology event series including Apps World, CloudComputingCongress.com remains a valuable historical record of the early cloud computing movement in Europe.

The Origins of the Conference

Cloud Computing Congress Europe emerged during a period of intense interest in virtualization, hosted services, distributed infrastructure, and software-as-a-service platforms. Around 2008 through 2010, enterprises were beginning to seriously evaluate whether applications, storage, and infrastructure could be shifted away from traditional in-house servers and onto externally managed platforms.

The conference was designed to bridge the gap between technical innovation and practical business adoption. Unlike purely academic conferences or narrowly developer-focused gatherings, Cloud Computing Congress Europe targeted CIOs, IT managers, systems integrators, vendors, software providers, and enterprise decision-makers.

The event was held at the Olympia Conference Centre in London, one of the United Kingdom’s most recognized exhibition venues. Olympia’s location in Kensington gave the event strong visibility within London’s growing technology and business community. At the time, London was rapidly becoming one of Europe’s key centers for finance, telecommunications, software development, and startup innovation, making it a logical location for a conference focused on the future of digital infrastructure.

The website emphasized several core objectives:

• Building strategic partnerships within the cloud ecosystem
• Educating businesses on the practical benefits of cloud computing
• Exploring security and governance concerns
• Examining SaaS and platform-as-a-service technologies
• Helping organizations understand ROI and implementation strategies
• Facilitating networking between vendors and enterprise buyers
• Connecting cloud computing with related technologies including social media and mobile platforms

These themes reflected broader industry trends of the time, when businesses were beginning to realize that cloud computing would become deeply integrated with social networking, mobile applications, enterprise collaboration tools, and large-scale data management.

The State of Cloud Computing in 2010

One of the most fascinating aspects of CloudComputingCongress.com is how clearly it captures the uncertainty and excitement surrounding cloud computing in 2010.

Today, cloud infrastructure powers virtually every major digital platform, from streaming services and ecommerce sites to enterprise collaboration tools and artificial intelligence systems. In 2010, however, many organizations were still debating whether cloud computing could be trusted for mission-critical business operations.

The conference addressed several major concerns that dominated industry discussions during this period:

• Data security
• Multi-tenant infrastructure risks
• Regulatory compliance
• Reliability and uptime
• Vendor lock-in
• Scalability
• Disaster recovery
• Return on investment
• Integration with legacy systems

At the time, virtualization itself was still relatively new for many organizations. Public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services were expanding rapidly, but enterprise adoption remained cautious. Microsoft Azure had only recently launched, and many companies were experimenting with hybrid environments that combined traditional infrastructure with emerging cloud services.

The conference agenda reflected these realities. Sessions explored practical deployment models, operational risks, and the organizational changes necessary to support cloud adoption. Rather than presenting cloud computing as a magical solution, the event attempted to provide realistic guidance for businesses trying to navigate a rapidly changing technology landscape.

Olympia Conference Centre and the London Technology Scene

The Olympia Conference Centre was an important venue choice for the event. Located on Hammersmith Road in West London, Olympia had long been associated with trade exhibitions, technology expos, and business conferences.

Its proximity to Kensington, Earl’s Court, and central London made it accessible for both local attendees and international visitors arriving through Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and London City Airport. The conference materials provided extensive transportation guidance, highlighting the importance of accessibility for a global technology audience.

Nearby accommodations included the Hilton London Olympia Hotel, which served as the conference’s official hotel partner. Discounted room rates were offered to attendees, and networking events were hosted at the hotel’s Plum Bar and lounge areas.

The location also reflected London’s status as a rapidly growing technology hub. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, London’s startup ecosystem was expanding dramatically, particularly around areas such as Shoreditch and Silicon Roundabout. Financial institutions, telecom providers, universities, and government agencies were increasingly investing in digital transformation initiatives, many of which relied on cloud technologies.

Conference Structure and Programming

The 2010 conference was structured as a multi-day event combining workshops, exhibitions, conference presentations, and networking opportunities.

The program included:

• Free workshops and exhibitions
• CIO-focused conference sessions
• Vendor demonstrations
• Technical presentations
• Strategic business discussions
• Networking events
• Partner ecosystem development sessions

This format was designed to attract both technical professionals and executive decision-makers.

The event also featured co-located conference streams covering:

• Social Media
• Enterprise Social Media
• Mobile Social Media
• Social TV
• Cloud Computing

This crossover between cloud infrastructure and social technologies was highly significant. Many businesses were beginning to realize that social networking platforms, mobile applications, and collaborative enterprise tools depended heavily on scalable cloud infrastructure.

The integration of these conference tracks reflected a growing understanding that cloud computing was not merely an infrastructure trend but a foundational technology enabling broader digital transformation.

Major Themes Discussed at the Event

Cloud Security and Multi-Tenancy

Security concerns represented one of the central themes of the conference.

At the time, many organizations feared placing sensitive data into shared environments. Discussions around multi-tenancy — where multiple customers share underlying infrastructure — generated significant debate.

Industry experts at the conference attempted to address these concerns by explaining that properly managed cloud systems could actually provide stronger security than many traditional on-premise environments. Speakers emphasized that major cloud providers invested heavily in monitoring, access controls, and infrastructure hardening.

These discussions proved remarkably forward-looking. Today, cloud security remains one of the most important areas of enterprise IT, and many organizations now rely on cloud providers for security capabilities that would be difficult to replicate internally.

Virtualization

Virtualization was another major focus.

Many conference sessions examined how virtualization technologies enabled organizations to consolidate workloads, improve hardware utilization, and create flexible infrastructure environments.

Companies such as VMware played a prominent role in these conversations. Speakers discussed how virtualization formed the technical foundation for private clouds, public clouds, and hybrid environments.

The event highlighted how businesses were moving away from rigid physical server architectures toward more dynamic and scalable infrastructure models.

SaaS and Enterprise Applications

Software-as-a-service applications were rapidly gaining popularity during this period.

Conference discussions explored how SaaS platforms could reduce operational complexity while improving scalability and collaboration. Topics included:

• CRM systems
• Collaboration tools
• Email management
• Enterprise content platforms
• Cloud-based productivity solutions

Many attendees were trying to determine whether SaaS could replace traditional enterprise software deployments. These discussions would later prove highly influential as SaaS became the dominant software delivery model across countless industries.

Mobile Cloud Computing

The conference also demonstrated remarkable awareness of the growing relationship between mobile devices and cloud infrastructure.

Workshops explored:

• Mobile application development
• Cloud-enabled mobile services
• Social networking on smartphones
• Mobile monetization strategies
• App ecosystems

This focus reflected the rapidly growing smartphone revolution triggered by devices such as the iPhone and Android handsets.

Speakers discussed how cloud infrastructure would enable scalable mobile experiences, a prediction that became increasingly accurate as mobile computing exploded throughout the following decade.

Notable Speakers and Industry Experts

Cloud Computing Congress Europe assembled an impressive lineup of speakers from major technology companies, consulting firms, government organizations, and academic institutions.

Notable participants included representatives from:

• Salesforce
• VMware
• Microsoft
• Rackspace
• Cisco
• DHL
• Morgan Stanley
• Canonical
• Mimecast
• CA Technologies
• Informatica
• Royal Mail
• Westminster City Council
• University of Bristol
• University of Sussex

The diversity of speakers demonstrated how cloud computing was affecting nearly every sector, including finance, logistics, government, telecommunications, education, and enterprise software.

Several speakers were recognized thought leaders in emerging cloud technologies, SaaS strategy, virtualization, and enterprise architecture. Their participation helped establish the conference’s credibility within the technology community.

The Role of Networking and Partnerships

Networking was a major component of the event.

The conference positioned itself not simply as a learning experience but as a business development platform. Workshops and exhibition areas were specifically designed to encourage partnerships between:

• System integrators
• Software vendors
• Cloud providers
• Telecom companies
• Enterprise buyers
• Consultants
• Investors

This ecosystem-oriented approach reflected the collaborative nature of the cloud industry at the time. No single company controlled the entire technology stack, and partnerships were essential for delivering integrated cloud solutions.

The event’s networking sessions, workshops, and social gatherings helped facilitate relationships that likely contributed to numerous business partnerships and implementation projects.

Educational Value and Industry Influence

One of the most important contributions of CloudComputingCongress.com was its role in educating businesses during a period of technological uncertainty.

Many organizations attending the conference were exploring cloud technologies for the first time. The conference materials attempted to provide practical, accessible explanations rather than overwhelming attendees with purely technical jargon.

Topics frequently focused on:

• Real-world deployment examples
• Cost savings
• Organizational change management
• Security best practices
• Infrastructure planning
• Vendor evaluation
• Governance strategies
• Scalability

This educational emphasis helped demystify cloud computing for businesses that were hesitant about adopting unfamiliar technologies.

Relationship with Social Media World Forum

An interesting aspect of the conference was its close relationship with the Social Media World Forum and related digital media events.

This overlap demonstrated how rapidly the technology industry was converging around interconnected digital ecosystems. Social media platforms required scalable hosting infrastructure. Mobile applications depended on cloud services. Enterprise collaboration tools increasingly operated through hosted environments.

By co-locating cloud computing discussions alongside social media and mobile technology conferences, the organizers highlighted how these technologies reinforced one another.

This interdisciplinary approach anticipated the broader digital transformation trends that would dominate the following decade.

Industry Context and Competitive Landscape

The conference occurred during a highly competitive period for cloud providers.

Major companies were racing to establish leadership positions in emerging cloud markets:

• Amazon Web Services was rapidly expanding
• Microsoft Azure was entering the market
• Google was increasing enterprise cloud investment
• VMware dominated virtualization discussions
• Rackspace promoted hosted infrastructure services
• Salesforce championed SaaS applications

Cloud Computing Congress Europe gave these companies an opportunity to educate potential customers, demonstrate capabilities, and influence market perceptions.

The event also provided visibility for smaller vendors and startups attempting to differentiate themselves within the rapidly expanding cloud ecosystem.

Cultural and Historical Significance

Looking back, CloudComputingCongress.com represents more than just a conference website. It serves as a historical document capturing the early mainstream adoption phase of cloud computing.

The concerns discussed at the conference — security, scalability, hybrid deployment, governance, and ROI — would shape enterprise IT strategy for years to come.

Many predictions presented during the event proved highly accurate:

• Cloud computing became central to digital transformation
• SaaS applications became dominant
• Hybrid infrastructure became common
• Mobile computing exploded
• Cloud-based collaboration tools became essential
• Multi-tenant architectures became widely accepted

The conference captured a moment when businesses were transitioning from skepticism to cautious adoption.

Today, cloud computing underpins ecommerce platforms, streaming services, enterprise software, artificial intelligence systems, remote work technologies, and global digital infrastructure. The discussions hosted by Cloud Computing Congress Europe contributed to the broader industry dialogue that helped accelerate this transformation.

Decline and Integration into Larger Event Platforms

Over time, the standalone Cloud Computing Congress brand appears to have been absorbed into broader technology event portfolios including the Social Media World Forum and later the Apps World series.

This evolution reflected broader industry consolidation trends. As cloud computing became mainstream, dedicated cloud conferences increasingly merged into larger digital transformation events covering multiple technology domains.

Rather than disappearing entirely, the themes and conversations pioneered by Cloud Computing Congress Europe became integrated into broader discussions around enterprise technology, mobility, AI, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure.

The website itself eventually became more of an archival presence documenting the earlier years of the event.

Legacy of CloudComputingCongress.com

The legacy of CloudComputingCongress.com lies in its role as a bridge between emerging cloud innovation and practical enterprise adoption.

The conference helped organizations:

• Understand cloud computing fundamentals
• Evaluate security and governance risks
• Connect with vendors and partners
• Learn from early adopters
• Explore mobile and SaaS technologies
• Build strategic relationships
• Prepare for digital transformation

The archived materials provide modern readers with valuable insight into how industry leaders viewed the future of computing during a pivotal technological transition.

For historians of technology, enterprise architects, and cloud professionals, the site offers a fascinating snapshot of an industry at the beginning of one of the most important infrastructure revolutions in modern history.

 

 

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