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All the hype about Big Data over the past year has succeeded in educating executives in organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry about the unprecedented potential to use analytics to improve operations, sales effectiveness and customer support. However, the hype has also too often mad...

SaaS has become an accepted alternative to traditional on-premises enterprise applications, and a broader set of cloud services is becoming a viable option for businesses seeking more flexible, economical computing capabilities. Adoption of these services is accelerating rapidly, because they are de...

THINKstrategies, the Cloud Computing Showplace, and Rising Tide Media hosted our second annual Cloud Channel Summit earlier this week, giving executives from leading cloud and channel companies a peer-to-peer networking forum where they could share perspectives on how to forge successful partnershi...

I've been suggesting for the past few years that a more robust channel ecosystem must emerge for the cloud movement to continue to grow at its current pace. While fundamental nature of the cloud computing business creates significant challenges for traditional channel companies, rapidly rising use...

The only topic getting more attention in the tech industry than the Cloud is the debate over the future implications of the upcoming US presidential election. And, in many ways the two topics are intimately intertwined. Both are being propelled by plenty of fear, uncertainty and doubt. Fear about th...

Now that Software as a Service and the broader cloud computing concept have gained widespread recognition and acceptance, it will be interesting to see whether online marketplaces will become a preferred method for acquiring these on-demand resources. Given the proliferation of SaaS/cloud providers...

In the stampede of established players and relative startups seeking to capture a piece of the rapidly expanding cloud market, it is inevitable there will be a few casualties. However, it is surprising which companies have failed to gain an edge in this "Cloud Rush" environment. A case in point is C...

Today's rapidly expanding array of cloud-based applications are quickly delivering quantifiable business benefits, as three years of THINKstrategies Best of SaaS Showplace Awards have clearly proven. However, it is also becoming clear that poorly managed deployment of today's cloud alternatives can...

The debate about the viability of cloud alternatives has given way to a new set of discussions about how to maximize the value of today's rapidly evolving cloud services. This new round of deliberations centers on the right approach to planning, selecting, deploying, administering, and optimizing th...

The exponential growth of data from a widening array of sources is making the term "Big Data" a hot topic among corporate executives from businesses of all sizes across nearly every industry. The Big Data phenomenon is being fueled by new social networks, mobile devices and increasingly powerful ap...

I recently read an article about the escalating concerns within a widening array of organizations over the growing security risks associated with today's social networks. Corporate concerns about potential Internet security risks have skyrocketed, not only because of Facebook, Twitter and other pop...

It amazes me that there are still analyst reports and other industry studies questioning the value of today's cloud solutions. While there is no question that the return on investment will vary depending on a variety of factors, there is plenty of evidence that anyone who employs cloud solutions tho...

With little public fanfare, SAP and Google announced a strategic alliance to integrate SAP's BusinessByDesign and Google Apps during an "influencer" forum last month. Although senior executives from both companies boasted about the significance of this joint initiative, neither issued a public anno...

The success of the cloud movement over the past year has spawned a proliferation of players seeking to win a share of this rapidly growing market. While the market opportunities appear to be endless, the "cloud rush" effect that has overtaken the industry is making it more difficult than ever for co...

Oracle's recent acquisition of RightNow raises a question: Can multiple cloud companies be merged together to form a tightly coupled suite of solutions like those which were promised but never delivered during the client-server era? On the face of things, it would appear that merging cloud companies...

When people think of traditional channel companies in the tech industry, a wide array of distributors, systems integrators, or value-added resellers usually comes to mind. These players have an important role in the cloud, but a new form of cloud-enabled channel is also beginning to emerge. The trad...

In my previous commentary in this space, I suggested that the evolution of the channel in the cloud is entering a new stage in its development. Last month's Dreamforce conference, hosted by Salesforce.com, served as a showcase for a series of new channel initiatives which clearly indicate the growin...

Over the past two years, I've been chronicling the evolution of the channel in the cloud in my monthly commentaries in this space. Although many industry pundits have predicted the disintermediation of the channel in the cloud computing marketplace, I continue to see signs of success but under a new...

Google's recent decision to abandon its Google Health program has raised new questions about how far the healthcare industry is willing to go down the cloud computing path. The reality is that Google's decision was not a reflection of the healthcare industry's resistance toward cloud computing, but ...

I'm still surprised by the range of companies and nonprofit organizations moving to the cloud, and pleased to hear about the business benefits they are gaining from their decisions. An illustration of this growing movement is a series of webcast interviews I recently conducted of CXOs from a variety...