Please plan to join CIO members and invited guests at the November 15 meeting of the Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum. The topic for this meeting is "Software as a Service" (SaaS). The SaaS application delivery model is one where a vendor develops a web-native application and hosts and operates (either independently or through a third party) the application for use by its customers over the Internet. SaaS signifies a paradigm shift in software development with changes impacting many aspects of IT. At this meeting, we will explore key vendor strategies and implementations, the benefits being realized, the dimensions of change to IT and lessons learned.

This roundtable is structured to provide two views; (1) industry perspectives from three key vendors in SaaS, and (2) CIO views, challenges and experiences in adopting SaaS in their organizations. Steve Bergman, CIO, Goodwill Industries, will begin the meeting with a level-setting including a base of definitional aspects of SaaS. Cindy Warner, AVP, Global Technology Services, Salesforce.com, will discuss Salesforce.com's Success On Demand strategy. She will address the power of SaaS using three significant client experiences to examine speed of deployment, innovation, and collaboration in the world of SaaS. She will further discuss SaaS as an innovative strategy for successful collaborations within the enterprise and between enterprises.

With the prediction that 79% of all companies purchasing software are at least considering an "on demand" or Software as a Service ( SaaS) offering, Oracle will address the CIO roundtable with a discussion of what's behind this trend, as well as the strategic advantages, transformations, and new business models that adopters are achieving and envisioning. Joseph King, Group Vice President at Oracle will debunk the myths and clear up the hype, while exploring where customer requirements will drive the software industry and solutions in the future including whether this is a sustainable business model for the long term. He will also discuss where Oracle technology is going to support new, non-traditional software delivery models.

Michael Lock, Enterprise Director of US Operations, Google, Inc. will discuss enterprise Google Apps, the SaaS strategy which has made Google an industry leader in SaaS. After the three vendor strategies have been presented, the vendor speakers will join the roundtable and participate in discussion with the CIO members to further explore trends, advances, benefits realized, lessons learned, and challenges in adopting SaaS.

This meeting is a Roundtable Plus meeting. Only CIO members, guest CIOs and guests invited by CIO members for this roundtable will be attending. Vendor members and Towson University academia do not participate in this type of meeting. The roundtable format will be used and all participants will have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Staff members who are guests of our CIO members are bound by the NDA signed by the CIO member.

Please join our members at the meeting! The meeting starts at 8:00 AM and ends by 1PM. Brunch and lunch are provided. Pre-registration is required. Meeting logistics including agenda, directions to the meeting place and parking information will be emailed to you after you register. For registration for this meeting, please contact: Bonnie Lawson at blawson@towson.edu or 410-704-4252.

To make inquiries about this meeting or about membership in the Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum, please contact: