Sam is a senior software executive turned industry analyst, with a passion for making sense of the complex and bringing innovative enterprise technologies to market. Through speaking, writing, research and consulting engagements, he helps enterprise technology users understand the far-reaching implications of cloud computing, big data and application platform technologies, and how to take advantage of them to achieve business and technical goals. He also works directly with startup and market-leading software, hardware and services companies to help them understand emerging technology and market trends and clearly articulate their complex capabilities to the world. Sam is a frequent commentator on technology and business issues: his columns have appeared in ReadWriteWeb, Venture Beat and other publications; he's presented at numerous conferences including CloudConnect, Cloud Expo, Cloud2020 and GlueCon. Sam is a co-founder of CloudCamp, a global unconference series (300+ cities worldwide) where early adopters of cloud computing technologies exchange ideas, and the Cloud Computing Interoperability Forum (CCIF), an early effort to promote inter-cloud operability.