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"Cloud is setting expectations among end users for a fast hands-on experience," stated Kevin Epstein, VP of Marketing at CloudShare, in this exclusive post-show interview with Cloud Expo Chair Jeremy Geelan.

As CloudShare is "a fan of ubiquity and democratization of IT," Epstein notes that "surrounded by Clouds - looks like computing heaven to us."

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Cloud Computing Journal: A very general question first, about Cloud Computing itself: Surely we've heard all of this before in various forms and guises - grid computing / utility computing, etc.? What is different this time - why is everyone so convinced it will now work?

Epstein: Proof is in ease of use - and corresponding actual usage. We have both.

Remember that the vision of "utility" computing was that it would be like plugging in a toaster; power would just be there. But even existing public clouds to-date haven't made getting resources that easy, and add to the complexity by charging for every element (machines, software licenses, bandwidth, storage, etc.).

In contrast, with CloudShare, we've watched average IT users who've never used "Cloud" before sign up and set up six networked servers in five minutes - then issue 10 copies in 60 seconds.

It's fast. It's easy. It's free. The thousands of virtual machines created by our Pro users would suggest it's working.

Cloud Computing Journal: What are the three main factors driving CIOs toward the Cloud?

Epstein: We believe flexibility, responsiveness, and cost considerations make Clouds attractive to CIOs.

Consider what Steven Peltzman, CIO of MOMA, recently said about CloudShare:

"CloudShare is the easiest way I've seen to get started with Cloud Computing. Click and there's extra copies of your servers in the Cloud. Pay for what you use and shut it off again. I recommend CloudShare if you want to lower the IT total cost of ownership, make better use of your skilled (and unskilled) staff, and get things done faster."

Cloud Computing Journal: And what are the three main barriers preventing some CIOs from moving some of the on-premise computing to the Cloud?

Epstein: Based on a survey we did, it's -not- "Security," as is so commonly cited.

The researcher we hired cites the top three factors respondents cited as "Very Important" to have in a Cloud provider as:

1. Support for their existing in-house IT architecture, including unmodified operating systems, applications and network topology (71 percent)
2. An all-inclusive business model that includes servers, bandwidth and storage, rather than a 'nickel-and-diming' approach (57 percent).
3. "Point-and-click" level of ease of use (54 percent).

http://www.cloudshare.com/News/10-03-22/New_Survey_Reveals_Change_in_Cloud_Computing_Drivers.aspx

Cloud Computing Journal: How does your own company's offering/s assist CIOs and organizations/companies?

Epstein: Cloud is setting expectations among end users for a fast hands-on experience. Why do I need to wait for email? I have Gmail. Why wait for CRM? I have Salesforce.com - it's adding a bit of pressure to IT.

We're there for the IT folks - we let them provide their existing systems, that they know how to administer and run, but we let them do that as-is in the cloud, so they get the instant access, global access, backup, reliability, etc. (and get it very, very quickly)

The CloudShare IT experience is like the VMware IT experience; it's intuitive because you interact with the cloud/virtual machines just like you interact with your local/physical environment today.

As Steven Peltzman said above - we're fast, easy, and save you money. Not a bad start...

Cloud Computing Journal: Are there other players in the Cloud ecosystem offering the same - or is your company unique? Why?

Epstein: We feel a little bit like we imagine WebEx felt in the early days. After all, when WebEx started, there were many "streaming media" companies.

Few people understood why WebEx was different - why it wasn't just a hosted media server with a web portal.

There are many would-be Cloud companies, and hosting companies. But we can't name another one that combines our ease of use, our ease of Cloud entry (our patented FastUpload feature moves your local VMs into the Cloud in 15 minutes), and our analytics and management platform.

But don't take our word for it - we're also the only Cloud company that offers the basic service for individuals for free (at http://cloudshare.com/pro )

Cloud Computing Journal: We hear talk of a Cloud Revolution and also of a Cloud "evolution" - either way, what kind of time span are we talking about, do you think. In other words, for how long is Cloud Computing going to exert its pull on the minds, hearts, and budgets of all involved in modern-day Enterprise IT?

Epstein: Here at CloudShare, we're a fan of ubiquity and democratization of IT.

Consider that email, the most ubiquitous internet tool, was once a mysterious thing, available only after you were given "an account" on the corporate system?

Remember that cell phones were once a status symbol, because so few people had them?

We want Cloud to be as easy to use and ubiquitous as Webex for PowerPoint, or mobile phones and Gmail.

Anyone, at any time, should be able to put copies of their IT in the cloud, instantly - be it for sales, tech support, training, remote sites, QA use, you name it.

So we'd suggest that Cloud Computing isn't a Revolution or an "evolution," but more of a tectonic shift. The Internet is here; now, it's going always-on / always-available to individuals, via wireless devices... and the computers to which those devices connect constitute the Cloud.

Surrounded by Clouds - looks like computing heaven to us.  :)

A Rock Star Faculty, Top Keynotes, Sessions, and Top Delegates!
Cloud Expo 2010 West, November 1-4, Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, California will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.

The growth and success of Cloud Computing will be on display at the upcoming Cloud Expo conferences and exhibitions in Prague June 21-22 and Santa Clara November 1-4.

The recent Cloud Expo at the Javits Center in New York City was the largest Cloud Computing conference ever produced, more sponsors, exhibitors and delegates than all other Cloud events of the year combined!

The four-day Santa Clara event will attract more than 6,000 delegates from 48 countries and over 200 sponsors and exhibitors on a 120,000 sq ft show floor, larger than Cloud Expo 2010 East, New York City event!

All main layers of the Cloud ecosystem will be represented in the6th and 7th International Cloud Expo - the infrastructure players, the platform providers, and those offering applications, and they'll all be here to speak, sponsor, exhibit and network.

"Cloud Expo was announced on February 24, 2007, the day the term ‘cloud computing' was coined," said Fuat Kircaali, founder and chairman of SYS-CON Events, Inc. "Cloud has become synonymous with ‘computing' and ‘software' in two short years, and this event has become the new PC Expo, Comdex, and InternetWorld of our decade. By 2012, more than 50,000 delegates per year will be attending Cloud Expo."

Sponsorship Opportunities
for Cloud Expo Prague and Santa Clara
Cloud Expo 2010 Europe and Cloud Expo 2010 West "show prospectus" have shipped. Sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities can be obtained from Carmen Gonzalez by email at events (at) sys-con.com, or by phone 201 802 3021.

Early Bird Registration Options
for Cloud Expo Prague and Santa Clara
Cloud Expo delegates can pre-register for the Cloud Expo Europe with €550+ savings here and for Cloud Expo West with $800+ savings here.

About SYS-CON Media & Events
SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com) has since 1994 been connecting technology companies and customers through a comprehensive content stream at www.sys-con.com - featuring over forty focused subject areas, from Cloud Computing to Web Security - interwoven with market-leading full-scale conferences produced by SYS-CON Events. The company's internationally recognized brands include among others Cloud Computing Expo (www.CloudComputingExpo.com), Virtualization Conference & Expo (www.VirtualizationConference.com), Government IT Conference & Expo (www.GovITExpo.com), Cloud Computing Bootcamp (www.CloudComputingBootcamp.com), and UlitzerLive! New Media Conference & Expo (http://events.sys-con.com).

Cloud Expo, Cloud Expo East, Cloud Expo West, Cloud Expo Silicon Valley, Cloud Expo Europe, Cloud Expo Tokyo, Cloud Expo Prague, Cloud Expo Hong Kong, Cloud Expo Sao Paolo are trademarks and /or registered trademarks (USPTO serial number 85009040) of Cloud Expo, Inc.