The future model for providing IT infrastructure and services in large organizations is what many today are calling "Cloud Computing" - a concept popularized by Amazon through its web services efforts. Merrill Lynch analysts for example reckon that by 2011 the volume of Cloud Computing market opportunity will amount to $160BN, including $95N in business and productivity apps (e-mail, office, CRM, etc.) and $65BN in online advertising.

Cloud Computing has many interpreters just now - and many interpretations. One thing is certain: it is the most dynamic new metaphor to hit enterprise computing since the creation of the "Web" by Tim Berners-Lee.

Submit Your Speaking Proposal Here - Call for Papers: Open Through July 31

Forrester Research analyst James Staten calls cloud computing "classic disruptive innovation where the mainstream dismisses the product and small companies have time to create a real differentiated value." But there are so many offerings just now that what infrastructure architects are looking for above all is a set of organizing principles they can use to guide them in choosing between them all.

Accordingly SYS-CON Media & Events is continuing its market-leading practice of launching full-blown conferences ahead of anyone else by launching its Cloud Computing Expo, to be held November 20-21, 2008 in San Jose, California.

Join a star-studded lineup of speakers that already includes Mike Eaton - CEO, Cloudworks; Don MacAskill - CEO & Chief Geek, SmugMug; Jason Hoffman - CTO, Joyent; Billy Marshall - Founder & CEO, rPath; Dr Thorsten von Eicken - CTO & Founder, RightScale; Patrick Harr, CEO - Nirvanix; Willy Chiu - VP of High Performance on Demand Solutions, IBM; Mike Feinberg - SVP, Cloud Infrastructure Group, EMC; Dave Durkee - CEO, ENKI; John Janakiraman - CTO, Skytap; Javier Soltero - CEO, Hyperic; Reuven Cohen - Founder & Chief Technologist, Enomaly; Kirill Sheynkman - Founder & CEO, Elastra; and Lars Leckie, Principal, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.

The Conference theme is "The Delivery of IT Resources as Services" and we are still accepting leading-edge session proposals on a wide range of key cloud topics, including:

• SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS
• Automation
• Grid Software
• Elastic Computing
• Cloud Databases
• Scalability
• Fabric Computing
• Green IT
• High-Performance Computing
• Service Management
• Web-scale Computing
• Cloud Standards

The submission process is 100% online and the submissions URL is here.