We have several objectives in this article. In the first part (Sections 2 and 3 that follow), we give an overview of the core concepts of cloud computing and its key advantages. The second part of the article starts with Section 4, where we make a case for the need for a roadmap for IS professionals and IS researchers in understanding and evaluating cloud computing. In Section 5, we analyze the strategic imperatives of the cloud computing industry as a whole. The analysis is presented in a SWOT framework, so that we understand both the opportunities and challenges to the fledgling industry. Section 6 introduces the various stakeholders in cloud computing and discusses the relevant issues that they will need to consider. Section 7 discusses the nature as well as the role of the regulatory bodies that oversee cloud computing. Section 8 then assimilates the information from the prior section to come out with two sets of recommendations – one for the practitioners and the other for the researchers in IS in the cloud computing area. The final section concludes with a call to arms to the IS community to start the many relevant discussions on the “business” side of cloud computing.