Autodesk University 2012: The Reality of the Cloud (Innovation Forum)

It seems as though even less than a year ago, ‘The Cloud’ was still a buzzword for most people–particularly mainstream consumers. With the addition of services such as Netflix, Spotify, Box, and others, we have began to use the cloud without even thinking about it. As innovators, how do we harness the power of the cloud and what will the Cloud look like in ten years? Heck, what will it look like in one year?

AU2012 Innovation Forum | The Reality of the Cloud

In this Autodesk University 2012 Innovation Forum, guests including Peter Leyden (CEO of Reinventors Network), Teresa Payton (former White House CIO), Scott Zimmerman (manager, Enterprise Systems, Bechtel Corporation), and others discuss where the cloud exists today and how adoption is occurring faster than we might have thought. What are the possibilities that the cloud offers beyond what we already use, and what is happening to rapidly accelerate our move further into the cloud?:

Peter Leyden, CEO of Reinventors Network and Former Managing Editor of Wired Magazine

“One third of the planet is online and 70 percent have mobile phones. In the next ten years,
those phone connections will continue through every spot in the planet.”

“When you think about data, think of video. YouTube is essentially a function of the cloud. Video
is so dense; you couldn’t put them on the phones.”

“YouTube is now sending off 4 billion videos a day. For context, there are 7 billion people on the
planet.”

“We put more than 4 billion videos up each day. That’s more videos in one month than on all TV
networks in the past 60 years.”

“We spent a million years trying to figure out complexity of human interactions and up until
now, the internet wasn’t able to handle it. That’s why video is so important.”

“It’s really starting to impact how we work. All serious work and collaboration gets done in the
face-to-face realm. This is now virtualizing and it’s moving to the cloud.”

“We’re watching the digitization of everything. We’re going global in a way we’ve never done
before. This is the type of thing that in 100 years people will say “ah, that’s when the world went
digital.”

“You are blazing a trail that’s going to move to all different aspects of America.”

Teresa Payton, former White House CIO, and cybersecurity expert

“I think it takes a lot of guts for a vendor to ask a security expert to come in and talk about the cloud.”

“Autodesk wants to have an open and honest dialogue with you about how to understand
security in the cloud.”

“According to the FBI, there are two types of companies right now. Those that have been
hacked and those that don’t realize they’ve been hacked.”

“I believe with the right best practices and the right conversations with your vendor, you can
actually be safer in the cloud.”

“One thing that concerns CIOs and CEOs is intellectual property theft.”

“Personal computers and devices will get replaced more and more by the cloud.”

“Technology typically has to enable productivity, be a revenue generator, or a cost cutter.”

“There’s a new role emerging – global executive of cloud services.”

“51% of CIOS cite security as their greatest concern regarding current or planned moves to cloud
computing.”

“Companies on the leading edge of adopting cloud specifically requested bare minimum
guidelines for cloud security from their vendors.”

Scott Zimmerman, manager, Enterprise Systems, Bechtel Corporation

“The cloud is not about one size fits all. The cloud is a journey. The cloud is real.”

“A construction company is not what you typically think of as a fast follower in the cloud space.”

“Two years ago, our chairman and CEO laid down a challenge – get our employees out of the
trailers and into the field.”

“Cloud is really about getting the right information, to the right people, at the right time, on the
right device – including the kitchen sink.”

“We [Bechtel] built a private cloud called the Project Services Network that serves projects in
just about every country and function in our company.”

“You start to think about data differently when you consider the fact that every piece of data in
your information ecosystem is accessible and addressable.”

“There’s no perfect cloud. Each company will have their own recipe.”

“Do what makes sense for your business. The biggest barriers will be the people and process,
not the technology.”

“We’re an information factory with global demand. Our business is about speed and that comes
from innovation and simplicity. We see cloud as the magic part of that formula.”