UBM TechWeb Announces Cloud Connect Launch Pad 2011 Finalists

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud Connect, produced by UBM TechWeb, today announced the four Cloud Connect Launch Pad finalists. Cloud Connect Launch Pad offers a unique public forum for companies to show new platforms and applications to the cloud computing community.  Finalists will present live on the keynote stage on Wednesday, March 9 during Cloud Connect at the Santa Clara Convention Center.  For more information on Launch Pad, visit: http://launchpad.cloudconnectevent.com/.

The four Launch Pad competition finalists are:

• Aryaka Networks
• OpenLogic
• OpTier
• ScaleBase

"The Cloud Connect Launch Pad recognizes innovative new products and companies driving the cloud computing industry forward," said Steve Wylie, Cloud Connect General Manager. "This year's competition saw many impressive entries and we applaud their enthusiasm and extraordinary technological achievements."

After a first round of submissions via Twitter, the Launch Pad Jury voted on the top eight submissions. These elite eight were then asked to upload a short YouTube video for the community to vote and elect four to present at the event.  The selected four Launch Pad finalists will showcase their innovations to the cloud computing community and a People's Choice Winner will  be announced live on-site at Cloud Connect.

Cloud Connect will also feature more than 60 companies and is the premier event for cloud computing hardware, software and service providers to come together in one location. The growing list of sponsors and exhibitors currently includes: Diamond Sponsors Cisco Systems, Inc., IBM Corporation, Intel SOA Products Group, Microsoft and VMware; Platinum Sponsors Rackspace Hosting, SunGard Availability Services, and Terremark Worldwide; Gold Sponsors Abiquo, Inc., AT&T, GoGrid, HP and SOASTA; Silver Sponsors Apica, Ariba Inc., Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., CloudOptix, Cloudsoft, Keynote Systems, OnApp, Riverbed and Savvis.net.

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About Cloud Connect

Cloud Connect, produced by UBM TechWeb, is the defining event of the cloud computing industry.  As both a conference and an exhibition, Cloud Connect's goal is to chart the course of cloud computing's development by bringing together enterprise IT professionals, developers, infrastructure providers and cloud computing innovators.  UBM TechWeb has produced cloud events that define and frame cloud computing discussions since June 2008, including Cloud Summit Executive and Enterprise Cloud Summit at Interop.  Cloud Connect is a new one-of-a-kind event that encompasses the entire cloud computing ecosystem featuring Cloud Business Summit, a Launch Pad program, IT & Developer workshops and a full conference program.  Cloud Connect will take place March 15-18, 2010 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley, CA. For more information visit: www.cloudconnectevent.com.

About UBM TechWeb

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology.  Through its three core businesses – media solutions, marketing services and paid content – UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands and media applications in the technology market. More than 14 million business and technology professionals (CIOs and IT managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software Developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively engage in UBM TechWeb's communities and information resources monthly. UBM TechWeb brands include: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; award-winning online resources such as InformationWeek, Light Reading, and Network Computing; and market-leading InformationWeek, Wall Street & Technology, and Advanced Trading magazines.  UBM TechWeb is a UBM company, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

SOURCE UBM TechWeb