Event Partners

Once upon a time, a “computer” was someone who crunched numbers. Around 1945, it began to mean a box the size of a room which manipulated equations. Over the years, computers have shrunk, and today are simultaneously becoming more pervasive even while diminishing from public view.  While computational functions have dispersed into phones, cars, tablets, and other household items, other functions have disappeared into remotely hosted data centers.  When those data centers are opened for anyone who needs them, the end result is often referred to as "the cloud."

Cloud computing is consumed the way we consume tap water. Most people get water from a central reservoir using standardized water treatment practices, rather than from digging a well. Cloud computing allows businesses to quickly deploy new solutions, globalize their workforces, and adopt new software and services without having to build and maintain their own “wells” of costly, constantly changing hardware and software.

Rick Hamilton is IBM’s all time leading patent holder and the 39th most prolific inventor in the world. Recently appointed to be IBM’s Cloud Offering Evangelist, Hamilton will speak on how this new form of computing works and what it means for the future of business, privacy, and daily life.