Proformative (www.proformative.com), the resource for corporate finance, accounting, and treasury professionals, recently announced a series of free seminars that will examine 'Cloud computing' and 'software as a service' (SaaS) for finance, accounting, and related functions.

The seminar -- "Cloud Computing and SaaS for Finance and Accounting" -- has been designed to provide CFOs, Controllers, and other financial professional with critical information concerning what could be the largest change in their technology platforms since the emergence of the Internet.

With the emergence of "Cloud computing", computing power can essentially be purchased like a utility, similar to electric power from the grid. Users, which include companies of all sizes, can order virtually any size server infrastructure without the burden of up-front hardware or software costs, or the expense of server operations or people to manage the data center. As a result, many companies are moving to or contemplating the outsourcing of computing to simplify operations and cut costs.

Similarly, the delivery of software applications is transitioning to a "rental" model where users can use what they need when they need it. Core accounting and finance applications are rapidly developing and growing in this flexible, scalable model.

"The Cloud and SaaS can offer a steep drop in information-technology costs, from both a capital and operational expense perspective," says John Kogan, CEO of Proformative. "It's extremely important for CFOs and Controllers to know their options around leveraging this new way of doing business. These seminars cover the latest in how smart companies are learning about and putting themselves in the Cloud and into SaaS."

According to market-research firm IDC, companies are expected to spend some $100 billion this year on complex data centers, and many have plans to build in-house computing utilities called "private clouds" or outsourcing their computing to operators of "public clouds". Microsoft plans to enter this field, in effect offering to run companies' computer systems for them inside its own giant data center, and Google is gradually expanding its suite of Cloud-based offerings. Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, has been offering Cloud-computing services for some time.

SaaS companies such as Salesforce.com and Netsuite are also growing very quickly in response to the tremendous demand to outsource even mission-critical corporate applications.

The Proformative seminars will speak directly to the benefits and pitfalls of adopting Cloud and SaaS solutions, as well as the economic and risk factors driving adoption. Specific to finance and accounting systems, the seminars will cover:

• A primer on the Cloud, to answer the questions you have in terms you can relate to,
• The real risks and rewards of the Cloud and SaaS, from varying perspectives, and
• Real-world insight from professionals who have implemented many such systems.

The U.S. tour starts in Dallas on June 1, with subsequent stops in Denver on June 3, Phoenix on June 8, Atlanta on June 10, Boston on June 15, New York on June 16, Washington, DC on June 22, Chicago on June 23, Minneapolis and Houston on June 24, Seattle on July 21, Orange County on July 27, and San Diego on July 28. Each of the event sponsors, which include global companies like DLA Piper, SunGard Availability Services, NetSuite Inc., PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and others, are prepared to help seminar attendees in every element of their respective Cloud computing and SaaS programs.

"Few things are as critical to corporate finance, accounting and related professionals as the technology that drives their operation's efficiencies," says Kogan, "and those systems are moving online. This shift represents the largest change in this generation of the profession's technology."

Information and registration for the seminars can be found at www.proformative.com/events. The events are free.