I'm looking forward to Cloud Expo in Santa Clara next week.

Last year I flew from Manila, Philippines to be in attendance and announce the initial results of the Tau Index research that I'd been conducting with partners in Asia. This year, my flight will be only from Chicago, even as my Asian partners continue to expand the research.

We now cover 102 countries. The world's top five are South Korea, Estonia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Finland. The bottom five are Libya, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Iran, and Algeria. The countries with the most untapped potential seem to be Vietnam, Ukraine, and most of Eastern Africa.

I've written extensively on the topic, so won't repeat anything more here. One of our next steps is to bring some serious computing power to bear on the numbers, to bring them to life through data visualization. We can slice and dice the information through dozens of parameters, regions, income groupings, and combinations thereof. Our goal is to make them dance; we may be able to do this with the support of a university here in the Midwest with which we've been speaking.

Our research shines a light on many of the undiscovered gems in the world of global IT, and also reinforces the perceptions of many other countries with strong reputations. Given that IT innovation reaches most corners of the globe very quickly these days, we view our efforts as a way to further the growth of all global economies through the analysis and application of great technology.

If you're looking for new markets, sources, or investments, try to speak to me next week at the show. I'd love to share what we're doing with you.

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