Organizations are investing heavily in cloud computing today. Every day, more and more evidence points to the importance of cloud computing to global growth. One recent study found that public and private IT cloud services will produce nearly 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015 -- and more than half of those jobs will come from small and medium-sized businesses. The study goes on to predict that cloud computing will generate as much as $1.1 trillion in annual revenue by 2015. (Cloud Computing's Role in Job Creation, IDC March 2012)

That backdrop presents a real challenge for procurement personnel. We need to be aware of the benefits as well as the unique challenges presented by cloud computing. Procurement must be prepared to effectively address them prior to acquiring cloud computing services. Procurement departments' failure to address the challenges of cloud computing would expose their organizations to excess pricing and a wide range of risks related to data security, compliance, service availability, and vendor lock-in among other issues. This webinar addresses what cloud computing is, the essential paradigm shift it presents, the benefits and risks of cloud services, and an overview of how to prepare to acquire these services. This will bring everyone up to the same level before tackling the cloud service vendors - many of whom try to circumvent both IT and procurement.

Also this webinar will help procurement professionals better understand the depth of procurement issues in the cloud. The guest presenter for this webinar will be Ron Scruggs. Mr. Scruggs is a "Contracting for Cloud" Instructor for UCLA Extension Services and an Executive Consultant for Scruggs International.

To register for this free event, login to the association at http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/login.html and navigate to the "Webinars" tab. There you'll find a registration link, be sure to enter a valid email address as attendance details will be sent to you by email. Registration is free but may be limited, so sign up soon to ensure access to this event.

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