In George Orwell’s Book 1984, the party slogan was, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” And today, it is clear that the environment we now live in is a culmination of the many decisions that were made in the past. Many innovations we now take for granted?or expect to become broadly accepted?would never have been possible if past investments and research had not laid the foundation for them. Cloud technology is playing a critical role in many of these advances.