So do issues of due diligence, service availability, access management and data security.

FORBES: Are You Focused On The Wrong Security Risks?

Netscape cofounder Marc Andreessen started a data-center management firm called Loudcloud in 1999, later selling the service business to concentrate on automation software.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Starting in the second half of 2012, the company will begin offering a new cloud service to provide pet health management support using sensor data collected from the device.

ENGADGET: Fujitsu collar monitor proves that all dogs go to the cloud

Its unconventional business model is using the transformational power of the Cloud to provide a new level of service that allows companies to keep their legacy CRM and data management systems, while providing a higher level of customer insight and engagement.

FORBES: A Better Way to Manage the Customer Journey

Finally, in the retail industry, customer service centers are using Fast Data solutions for clickstream analysis and customer experience management.

FORBES: Fast Data Gets A Jump On Big Data

The shift to the cloud and the smartphone also gives Intuit a big opportunity to mine all that online spending and hiring data that can fuel new products and service ideas, and sell customers upgrades like payroll management and online banking.

FORBES: Why Intuit Is More Innovative Than Your Company

Enterprises can deploy M2M technology now to reduce the cost of field service management through remote maintenance, they can optimize fleet scheduling with real-time location and traffic data and they can tap into new business models such as usage-based (or pay-as-you) go billing.

FORBES: The Massive M2M Business Opportunity (Part 3)

CIOs could use this big opportunity to demonstrate leadership that is based on deep experience with and understanding of what data, big or small, is all about its management, its analysis, and its use in the service of innovation, the driving force of any enterprise.

FORBES: Will Big Data Make Your IT Organization Antifragile?