Charles Cooper writes on his CNET blog that IBM has found itself a cloud-computing czar. Well, not an actual "czar", really, the precise title for Erich Clementi is general manager of Enterprise Initiatives. But as Cooper notes, the aim seems clear: Clementi will be pitching IBM's cloud appeal to high-end customers all over the world.

IBM's official announcement, available in full here, is being made in four locations around the world. Clementi notes that is going to focus on making "economically compelling solutions" to enterprise clients "that help them run their businesses in smarter ways."

With just about every major vendor from Google to Microsoft pushing hard into the cloud these days, it's likely IBM's action will set off a stampede. Expect more vendors to send forth their own high-profile cloud evangelizers to bring the secret of low-cost, next-generation computing to big business. I still wonder, however, how many of these companies will be willing to give up control of their apps (and security) to that Big Man in the Sky.