Hurwitz & Associates announced today the release of "Cloud Computing for Dummies," written by the firm's senior team of Judith Hurwitz, Robin Bloor, Marcia Kaufman and Fern Halper and published by Wiley Publishing.

Cloud Computing has become the most important business trend of the decade. It has the potential to be as important to the way companies use technology as the Internet. While business and technology leaders are aware of the importance of the cloud, there is much confusion about what it is and how it can help transform their businesses.

Addressing this need, Hurwitz & Associates has spent the last 18 months conducting in-depth research that resulted in an easy to understand business book that clarifies the economic and technical foundations of cloud computing.

"Cloud Computing for Dummies" delivers a common-sense explanation of what Cloud Computing is, the underlying technologies, the business impact and how to develop a strategy. It covers important issues such as security, governance and management of clouds and public, private, and hybrid environments, as well as many others.

"Cloud computing is more than technology, it is an economic and business model," said Judith Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz & Associates. "When the data center can be easily scalable, predictable and affordable, and everything from hardware, management software, service orientation, security, software development, interoperability, and dozens of other components can be combined, we will achieve the industrialization of software."

"Cloud Computing for Dummies" is the fourth Dummies book written by Hurwitz & Associates. The team wrote two editions of "Service Oriented Architecture for Dummies," published in 2006 and 2008, and "Service Management for Dummies," published in June 2009, all by Wiley Publishing.

• Cloud Computing for Everyone