Yesterday I participated on a CIO panel discussion titled, “Cloud Computing… The New Normal?” As part of the Microsoft High Tech Summit 2011, this event gathers luminaries in the high tech industry to discuss the sustained business value realized from innovative IT and business solutions.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service. The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flow charts and diagrams.

Cloud Computing at Applied Materials

The cloud is a key part of Applied Materials’ IT portfolio and every new project is evaluated through a cloud lens. Last year we moved our core HR information systems to the cloud, completing the migration in eight months and at 50% of the cost of a comparable enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. We're currently in the process of moving e-mail and calendar to the cloud and have used several cloud-based point solutions such as travel and expense. We won't move to the cloud for just for the sake of it, but look for technology inflection points as part of our natural upgrade cycle.

The CIO panel discussion moderated by John Halliwell, general manager, Microsoft included the additional participants: Sam Coursen, vice president and CIO, Freescale Semiconductor; David Smoley, senior vice president and CIO, Flextronics International; Kevin Cooney, vice president and CIO, Xilinx.