Snehal Desai and David Linthicum to Keynote Open Data Center Alliance's Forecast 2014 Conference

Global enterprise IT leaders to gather in San Francisco for premier cloud computing event

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Jul 30, 2014, 10:00 ET

PORTLAND, Ore., July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA), the global organization where members work together to advance the deployment of enterprise cloud solutions and services that are interoperable, secure and free of vendor lock-in, today announced Snehal Desai and David Linthicum as keynote speakers for its third-annual Forecast 2014 conference. With a focus on cloud computing adoption, Forecast will be held September 22-24 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Snehal Desai, director of information technology for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how Disney uses technology to enable a better guest experience at its parks. He will discuss the technology behind a new program called MyMagic+; explain how Disney developed the architecture for the solution; and reveal how input from guests and cast members has helped the program evolve.

David Linthicum is senior vice president of Cloud Technology Partners, a cloud computing analyst with Gigaom Research, and an internationally recognized IT industry expert. At Forecast, he will examine the evolution of cloud computing and will explain how enterprises should be planning for technology changes and where they should focus their IT investments in the next 18-24 months.

Forecast kicks off with a full day of workshops on a range of cloud computing and data center topics delivered by ODCA technical workgroup members, including:

Implementing and Managing Cloud Networks – presented by Dave Casper of Moogsoft and Chris Swan of CohesiveFT
Business Enabled by Cloud – presented by Ryan Skipp of T-Systems, Pankaj Fichadia of National Australia Bank, and Prasanna Raman Sridhar of Infosys
Exploring Platform as a Service – presented by Cathy Spence of Intel
Cloud Procurement and Commercials – presented by Pankaj Fichadia of National Australia Bank

See the complete Forecast 2014 agenda and register for the conference here.

Forecast is regarded as the destination event for honing IT strategy, discovering solutions and services that meet business needs, and delivering real business results. Hundreds of IT executives from around the world will gather to share insights, discuss best practices, and examine emerging challenges facing enterprise cloud adoption.

Leading names in cloud computing have already signed on to sponsor Forecast 2014, including premium sponsors Appnomic, Capgemini, Citrix, Dell, Emerson Network Power, Hitachi, HP, Intel, SAP, Verne Global and VMware. Media sponsors include SecuritySolutionsWatch.com, Diversity Limited, Mission Critical Magazine, Cloud Strategy, and The WHIR. The Asia Cloud Computing Association, Cloud Security Alliance, TM Forum, Cloud Credential Council, DMTF, OASIS and SNIA have joined as collaborative sponsors. For more information about sponsorship, contact Julia Torresan at [email protected].

About The Open Data Center Alliance
The Open Data Center Alliance(SM) is an independent IT consortium comprised of global IT leaders who have come together to provide a unified customer vision for long-term data center requirements. The organization is led by a 14-member steering group, which includes representatives from BMW, Capgemini, China Unicom, Infosys, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Inc., National Australia Bank (NAB), NTT Data, SAP, T-Systems, UBS, Verizon Terremark and The Walt Disney Company. Intel serves as technical advisor to the alliance. ODCA hosts a Flash Webinar Series every other Tuesday at 8:00am US PT. These public events are one of the best ways to get to know ODCA usage models from the ODCA members who worked on creating the documents. View the calendar and register to attend the webinars on the ODCA Flash Webinar page. More information about ODCA publications and membership can be found at the organization's website: www.opendatacenteralliance.org, and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Slideshare, Twitter, and YouTube.