Selling the Cloud Sublime - To the Cloud: Big Data in a Turbulent World - page 92

Some of what they do involves general consciousness-raising about
cloud-computing companies: what are the top ten or top one hundred
cloud companies or what are the ive or ten companies to watch in the
coming year (Panattieri 2012)?
The blog site Cloud Tweaks is a good example of an informational blog
whose goal is to promote interest in the cloud and in sales of cloud services.
Established in 2009, it is one of the older sites. Its readership is made up of
IT professionals, government workers, inancial institutions, and corporate
executives who subscribe for free by providing identifying information. For
this they receive information on jobs, vendors, conferences, courses, and
white papers that contain research on the cloud industry. Cloud Tweaks is
supported by advertising, which is primarily placed by cloud-computing
businesses and the companies that service them. An issue posted on
January 8, 2013, provides insight into how sites like this bring together
informational and promotional characteristics to advance the construction
of a cloud-computing discourse. It starts by raising concerns about how
cloud companies, especially small and medium-sized irms, market or fail
to market their product. Many cloud companies, the article maintains,
believe that the cloud is so extraordinary that it will sell itself and so they
rely on a single person or a small consulting company to promote the sales
effort. This is viewed as a mistake and a set of remedies is suggested. First
on the list is securing a serious “channel” program. A channel is lingo for
how a seller communicates with potential customers, typically by opening
an online presence such as a website or blog. Furthermore, while branding
the channel is important, companies need to be cautious about using the
term cloud in a nonspeciic way since most companies, especially small
ones, likely know more about the speciic service they need than about
the concept of the cloud. Next, in a recognition that cloud promotion
takes place in many different ways, the site recommends involvement in
the cloud-computing community by posting on cloud blogs, contribut-
ing guest articles, and participating in online discussions. All of these are
forms of company promotion. Finally, it is essential to participate in trade
shows and conferences that focus on cloud computing because they, too,
are vital promotional opportunities (Kenealy 2013).
Many other online sites are directly involved in providing promotional
information on such topics as how to market cloud computing. It is espe-
cially important to pay close attention to these because they offer concrete