I'm delighted to announce that Nick Carr will be joining us for most of the first leg of the Tour de Force (sorry Chicago!).  So if you are signed up for Atlanta, New York, Boston or London, as part of the keynote you'll be able hear from Nick on the transition from software to utility computing - a theme at the center of his new book, The Big Switch.

A hundred years ago, companies stopped generating their own power with steam   engines and dynamos and plugged into the newly built electric grid. The cheap power pumped out by electric utilities didn’t just change how businesses operate. It set off a chain reaction of economic and social transformations that brought the modern world into existence. Today, a similar revolution is under way. Hooked up to the Internet’s global computing grid, massive information-processing plants have begun pumping data and software code into our homes and businesses. This time, it’s computing that’s turning into a utility.

Admission to Nick's keynote, and the rest of Tour de Force, is free in U.S. (and included in Dreamforce admission for London), but space is limited to be sure to sign up today to secure your seat.