Cloud Computing For Easy Telecommuting
The latest work trend is to work with all of your files and collaboration entirely online, but is your work secure, and how can you telecommute through cloud computing effectively?
Aliza Sherman
Listen
Cloud Computing For Easy Telecommuting
Hi there, The Digital Marketer here, ready to help you put the power of the Internet and technology to work for your business.
You’ve probably been hearing about and reading about the term “cloud computing” lately. Is it just a newfangled way of saying “telecommuting” or is it something else entirely? And why would you, a hard-working small business owner, want to “work in the clouds?”
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(“div-gpt-ad-1544545608027-0”); });
I’ve been working in the clouds lately. No, that doesn’t mean that I’ve been daydreaming my workdays away. Cloud computing or “working in the clouds” refers to doing most or all of your work online. That means saving your files online, collaborating with your team online, and saving very little of your work on your computer’s hard drive.
Why Work in the Clouds?
There are several reasons why you might want to convert to cloud computing:
- Your files are available to you from anywhere in the world, from any computer with an Internet connection.
- You can share your files securely online with your team, your vendors, your clients — whoever needs to have access to them.
- You can collaborate with others using online tools, and you can even edit documents together in real-time.
- You have a digital trail of everything you do online including a history of edits on a document, all the versions of files that you’re modifying, and your communications — and it is much neater than a paper trail.
- Your files are safe in case you — or anyone you are working with — experiences a computer crash.
Cloud computing requires using several online tools to cover all of your bases. Some of those tools integrate with one another while others are standalone.
A Sample Cloud Computing Setup
Here’s an example of my cloud computing set up for my small business:
- Project Management — I manage my projects, keep track of correspondence, archive files and make and assign to-do lists on Basecamp.
- Invoicing — I no longer use an accounting program on my computer to do my invoicing. My bookkeeper has that. Instead, I do my invoicing — and some of my time tracking — with Freshbooks.
- Documents — I’ve uploaded most of my key files into Google Docs. That includes my word processing files, spreadsheets, and presentations. I can share these documents with my assistant, with clients, and anyone else who needs access. I even compose many of my documents online including my scripts for this podcast.
- Files — I’m starting to use Scribd at s-c-r-i-b-d dot com more and more to upload and archive presentation files, speaking notes, white papers, and other documents that I’d like to share with others but don’t need them to edit. I make some of these documents public while others are private and invite-only.
- Photographs — Flickr is my favorite photo sharing and archiving site. I especially like the “All Sizes” feature where Flickr gives me the HTML code for several different sizes of any photo that I can copy and paste into my web site or blog. I also recently used photos from my Flickr account to create my new business cards on Moo.com.
My computer is getting less and less cluttered the more I work online. And the online tools I use help me stay much more organized, are easy to search, and in general I feel they are secure.
But How Safe Is Cloud Computing, Really?
Of course, when it comes to technology — I’ve said this before — nothing is guaranteed. What if Google went away tomorrow? Then all of my Gmail and all of my Google Docs would disappear along with it. So my quick and dirty tip for cloud working? Back it up. Just like you do when you work “on the ground” with your computer.
Bottom line: If being flexible and portable is your goal, cloud computing takes telecommuting to new heights and can help you become more efficient over time. Cloud computing isn’t for everyone, but with the right tools, you may be able to work better, faster and farther than you’ve been able to do in the past.
Contact Me
That’s all we have time for today. Visit the show’s website at smallbiztechgirl.quickanddirtytips.com for links to all of the sites mentioned in the show and a few extras. If you’d like to ask a question or request a topic for Small Biz Tech Girl, e-mail me at smallbiztechgirl@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email.
If you’d like more information about keynote speeches, workshops, or other appearances by me, Aliza Sherman, host of Small Biz Tech Girl, visit www.mediaegg.com for details.
The Digital Marketer’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Building Your Business With Web Tools is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network at quickanddirtytips.com. Tune in for another business boost from The Digital Marketer, the host who’s not afraid to go under the Internet’s hood & get a little dirty!
Resources
Basecamp – getbasecamp
5pm – 5pmweb
Deskaway – deskaway
Freshbooks – freshbooks
Google Docs – Google Docs
Zoho – zoho
Scribd – scribd
Slideshare.net – slideshare
Flickr – flickr
Moo.com – moo
Image courtesy of Shutterstock