Blogging for Computerworld: Introducing "Cloudsourcing the Enterprise"

Ryan Nichols

We're flattered that Computerworld, one of the leading IT trade publications out there, offered us the opportunity to write a blog for their readers on the topic of cloud computing. While Computerworld's readers have all sorts of questions about the cloud, we'll be focused specifically on the issues surrounding how companies are adopting the cloud, because this is changing as quickly as the cloud itself.

We'll post excerpts from each Computerworld blog post here in Appirio's "CIO's Guide to the Cloud," along with our regular industry commentary. I've attached entry #1 below: "The path to cloudsourcing." Happy reading!

The path to cloudsourcing

Have you ever wondered what exactly cloud computing is, and why everyone seems so excited by it? Gartner defines cloud computing as "a style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided 'as a service' to external customers using Internet technologies.” How’s that for a mouthful?

My name is Ryan Nichols, and I’ve spent my career bridging the gap between business and technology at companies like McKinsey, SAP, and Intuit. Now I’m at Appirio, helping bridge that gap for companies moving to the cloud. I’m introducing this blog to explore how this thing called “cloud computing” can apply to your business -- because the potential impact of cloud computing is a whole lot more exciting than its technical definition.

Read more here...