CIO/CTO Power Panel, Power Presentation and Real Time Case Studies highlights of two-day Summit

UAE - April 8, 2010: Researched statistics state that the volume of market opportunities from the global Cloud Computing industry is estimated to be worth a whopping AED589 billion (US$160 billion) by 2011[1]. Further, global studies prove that 'cloud services' could add AED2.936 trillion (US$800 billion) in net new business revenue between end of 2009 and end of 2013[2]. These cloud services were forecasted to grow at over five times than the traditional offerings.

Elaborating on the significance of cloud computing in the Middle East, Mohammed Shah, Vice President of Technology Infrastructure and Services at Knowledge Economic City Developer Company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) said: "I think Cloud Computing is in its early stages in the region but organizations need to comprehend its main benefit: lower cost without the need for upfront capital expenditure." Shah is one of the speakers at the second Cloud Computing Virtualisation Summit to be held on April 11th and 12th 2010 in Abu Dhabi.

"The Cloud Services model offers technology professionals with financially attractive options in a pay as you go style. In the Middle East, this attraction will come from small and medium sized enterprise, as Cloud Services providers package their offerings in a more creative fashion, and will create significant demand over the medium term."

The Summit commences with a Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer CIO/CTO 'Breakfast Briefing' on an invitation basis only. This exclusive session will serve as a perfect networking platform for delegates as well as a brain storming session to set the pace for the two days. This is followed by the powerful keynote address by Darshan Chandarana, Director - EMEA Middleware, Oracle, UAE who will elucidate the what, why and how of Enterprise Cloud Computing. This will be followed by timely speeches and power panel discussions by some of the industry's eminent speakers.

The lineup of high profile speakers include Emad Khatib, Chief Information Officer, Emcredit, Majd Sakr, Ph.D. Co-Founder, Qatar Cloud Computing Center, Qatar and Associate Teaching Professor, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, Amir Belkhelladi, Chief Security Architect, Lloyds Banking Group, UK, Mohammed Shah, Vice President - Technology Infrastructure and Services, Knowledge Economic City Developer Co, KSA, Chris Edwards, Senior Legal Consultant, DLA Piper, UAE among others.

The well-researched speeches and presentations will provide attendees insight on the operational efficiency and cost-saving benefits of Cloud Computing. The two-day Summit will also highlight topics such as determining Cloud Computing's latest security risks and tactics to combat them and successfully leveraging cloud-based integration to increase customer loyalty. In addition to the speakers, the Cloud Computing Power Panel will discuss the current state of the cloud and where it's heading; An Interactive Regulation and Legislation Debate focusing on 'Creating industry standards for the cloud'; End-user-case studies that emphasis on learning from early adopters and avoid costly errors and most importantly, the networking opportunity with leading vendors.

-Ends- 

About the Cloud Computing and Virtualisation Summit
Organised by IIR Middle East, the Cloud Computing and Virtualisation Summit has quickly established itself as the region's premier annual conference and networking opportunity for C-level and technology professionals - attracting 241 delegates in 2009.

Running in parallel with the Summit will be a product exhibition, featuring services and products to meet all cloud computing and virtualisation requirements.

For more details about the Summit and the full programme, please visit www.cloudcomputing.ae      

About IIR Middle East:
The Institute of International Research (IIR) is part of Informa plc, the leading international provider of specialist information and services for the academic and scientific, professional and commercial business communities. Informa has more than 150 offices in more than 40 countries, employs over 9,000 staff globally and is the largest publicly owned organiser of conferences and courses in the world with an output of over 10,000 events annually.

For more than 35 years IIR has been the leader in facilitating business knowledge and skills delivered through cutting edge conferences, training programmes and industry led exhibitions.

Operating in the Middle East since 1993, IIR Middle East is the leading event organiser regionally. Key expertise allows us to identify trends ahead of the curve by responding quickly to market needs to bring global thought leaders and industry experts into the region.

For media requests, please contact:
Phone +971 (4) 4472501
Email team@tcf-me.com
P.O. Box 29764
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Fax +971 (4) 447 2505

[1] Merrill Lynch Report
[2] IDC's Global Study

© Press Release 2010