The rapidly shrinking and flattening of the world has been credited to advancement in networks and communications systems, particularly the Internet. The global communications capability we enjoy has transformed the world, a world that today’s students must be prepared to capitalize on. Learning organizations are challenged to keep up with the pace of information technology change. Can we stay current, embrace and leverage the technology for the benefit of today’s global learner?

The changing technology landscape is best described with an analogy, i.e. how the electricity utility arrives at the "power outlets” is of little concern to the average person; it just has to work reliably and consistently. Today, the electrical utility can be compared with the concept of "Cloud Computing”, i.e. the power-plants in the electrical grid feed the users needs; the networked server and datacenters are powering the worlds thirst for information. 

The information utility has arrived; but, it must work reliably and consistently. Broadband Internet speeds built on fiber optics and the proliferation of wireless technology, in addition, the maturation of computing, virtualization, storage and datacenter technology empower the opportunity for the information "power plants” to become the new information utility. We are now ready to accept that personal computing, applications and storage traditionally found on the user desktop will be found in cloud. Are you ready for this challenge?