At Cisco Live! Milan, I talked with people from all types of organizations from around the world and hearing their excitement at how they envision the cloud is going to change the way they do business.  Their stories are incredible and inspiring.  They range from a small startup hoping to expand their business without having to create their own IT department all the way to global companies looking for ways to deliver new services faster in a more secure and cost-effective manner.

No matter the size of their organization, they are all looking for similar things.  Assured performance is top-of-list for most.  Faster to time market is another important factor.  Many are turning to the cloud for a competitive edge that lets them take advantage of continuous innovation without having to reinvest in a completely new data center.  And most are looking forward to the cost savings of not having to manage their own IT infrastructure.  However, what's often not talked about is that behind every cloud service is a network that is responsible for the performance of your data and applications.  And the truth is, not all cloud services are created equal.

And that's where you'll find Cisco.  You trust Cisco with your network and data center.  Now you can trust Cisco, and our certified partners, with your cloud services.  Because Cisco understands how important your applications and data are to your day-to-day operations.  You can't afford to expose your business to the unpredictability of a best-effort network and best effort cloud services.  You need enterprise-class cloud services built on equipment that offers the same performance and reliability as you demand from the solutions you have on premise.

To help you find cloud services that can meet your business needs, Cisco has createdCisco Powered.  When you choose a Cisco Powered service, you'll know that your services will be delivered with superior performance, security, and support.  These services are built on proven and validated architectures with documented scalability and end-to-end security.  In addition, Cisco's cloud providers must undergo a rigorous certification program and each of their Cisco Powered services must pass a third-party audit.

The cloud promises to transform your business.  And when Cisco is the power behind your cloud, you'll know you are able to access your data and applications with confidence.

To learn more, let Rob Lloyd, Cisco's President of Development and Sales, share with you his thoughts on cloud.

For more information on Cisco Powered progarm , please visit Cisco.com/go/ciscopowered