Upcoming cloud events around town

Today we bring you news about events around town regarding the cloud.

Dec. 8, 2009
First up — we already told you about FedScoop’s Cloud Computing Shoot Out. It’s their second event that will focus on U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra’s five pillars of transparent government. This time, panelists will address concerns related to issues surrounding cloud portability, interoperability and security.

Some of the attendees:

• Werner Vogels, CTO, Amazon.com
• Yousef A. Khalidi, Distinguished Engineer, Cloud Computing, Microsoft Corporation
• Michael G. Hill, Vice President, Enterprise Initiatives IBM
• Prasad L. Rampalli, Vice President, Intel Architecture Group, Intel Corporation
• Eran Feigenbaum, Director of Security, Google Enterprise
• Kaveh Vessali, Vice President of Public Sector Solutions, Salesforce.com
• Jeff Bergeron, Chief Technologist, U.S. Public Sector, HP

The Shoot Out will be held at the Newseum and starts at 8 a.m. Register here.

Dec. 9, 2009
The Digital Government Institute presents its Cloud Computing Conference.

Chris Kemp, Chief Information Officer, Ames Research Center, NASA, will deliver the keynote, Government Cloud Computing for 2010: Moving Towards Efficient Operations.

Also, Chris Dorobek of DorobekInsider and Federal News Radio’s Daily Debrief will moderate the panel How to Take Advantage of Cloud Computing Today.

You can register for it here.

Dec. 17, 2009
Also, AFCEA Bethesda Chapter presents IT Infrastructure Management as part of its monthly breakfast series.

The panel will focus on how cloud computing environments, such as NASA’s Nebula and DISA’s Rapid Access Computing Environment (RACE), are changing the landscape of government IT infrastructure management, as well as helping to streamline system, network and storage management.

Speakers include:

• Casey Coleman, Chief Information Officer, General Services Administration (moderator)
• Chris Kemp, Chief Information Officer, NASA Ames Research Center
• Alfred Rivera, Director, Computer Services Directorate, Defense Information Systems Agency
• Keith Trippie, Executive Director, Enterprise System Development Office (ESDO), Office of the Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security
• Pete Tseronis, Associate Chief Information Officer, Department of Energy

Register here.

FCB will, of course, attend all of these events and report back, just in case you can’t make it.

FedScoop! to host Cloud Computing Shoot Out

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Hear Goldy Kamali talk more about FedScoop! and the Shoot Out.

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Have you heard that FedScoop! is hosting a Cloud Computing Shoot Out?

It’s coming up on Dec. 8 from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Newseum here in D.C.

Today, FCB talks with Goldy Kamali, founder and President of FedScoop! She tells us what it’s all about, who’s going to be there, and why you should attend.

“We decided to go ahead and do a series of events around the five pillars that federal CIO Vivek Kundra had outlined as priorities. We did our first event on October 14 at the Newseum and basically brought together executives in the White House and a lot of the federal CIO’s and CTO’s and decision-makers to talk about lowering the cost of government with technology.”

Since one of the topics was cloud computing, Kamali says a follow-up even was definetly in order; thus, the Shoot Out.

“There were so many interesting discussions that came as a result of that initial panel afterwards — and I noticed that there was so much controversy around cloud computing — who does what, who’s the leading provider, who’s FISMA compliant, who can be FISMA compliant. There were just so many question marks and so many rumors and unclear facts around cloud computing, that I had a meeting with Vivek Kundra and asked him — do you think it would be beneficial to clear the air on cloud computing?”

So . . . Kundra will be moderating the event — and Kamali says this will help everyone in the federal sphere.

“It’s basically — let’s all get on the same page and clear all of the question marks and really figure out who’s doing what, who has some best practices, who has some real-life experiences within the agencies that they can share and who really has the leading solutions.”

It’s important to hold the event — and more important for people to attend — because cloud computing is such a growing area in federal IT, Kamali explains.

But it’s also about money and the bottom line.

“[It is] a growing area within agency spending. In 2010, there’s going to be a significant jump in the budgets for implementing cloud solutions in agencies and, I think, by 2011, the dollar amount that’s being spent right now is going to double. . . . So, there’s a lot of opportunity.”

To attend, register here. It’s free if you’re a government employee — but hurry, because Kamali says spots are filling up quickly.

To listen to our entire interview with Kamali, click on the audio link at the top of the page.