When Ross Lazerowitz attended the Dreamforce convention in San Francisco, he finally got a chance to meet other people who shared his interest in cloud computing.

“The networking side was really cool,” said Lazerowitz, a sophomore information management and technology major.

Lazerowitz was the recipient of the Cloud University Dreamforce Scholarship, which earned him a spot at the convention.

“I’ve done a lot with cloud-based software,” Lazerowitz said. “I have a start-up company called Blu Arc Media; we do a lot of stuff with the cloud.”

Cloud computing is an integral part of the company, which is an advertising agency. Lazerowitz founded the company with Scott Friedberg, a junior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, according to a Sept. 10 School of Information Studies press release.

The idea of cloud computing is to have the consumer focus on the application and let the cloud service providers worry about the nature of the cloud-computing environment, said David Dischiave, associate professor of practice.

Dischiave said he was very impressed with Lazerowitz’s work in the technology field.

“I am not surprised with Ross’ success at all,” Dischiave said. “He reminds me of that yellow cartoon character, Sponge Dave. He just absorbs everything.”

The Dreamforce convention — run by Salesforce, a company that deals with cloud-based software — is an internationally recognized convention where technological entrepreneurs learn about the cloud-computing industry, according to the press release.

David Molta, an associate professor, said in an email that Salesforce.com is a company that enjoys economies of scale. This means more users leads to more income, which allows for a better service.

The conference was a way for Salesforce to present itself to the public and build trust, so new customers can rely on it and use its service, he said.

Students and faculty members are working together to apply cloud-computing technology to business endeavors in the iSchool, according to the press release.

Molta said in an email that he hoped Lazerowitz would inspire other students to pursue opportunities outside the classroom.

Said Molta: “When Ross wants to learn about something, he doesn’t wait to take a class on that subject; he jumps in and does whatever he needs to do to make it happen.”

Published on September 27, 2012 at 12:56 am

Contact David: dlauterb@syr.edu