Have you ever noticed that the more stuff we have, the more time we seem to spend managing it? This is particularly true with high tech gadgets.
Got a home computer? Great, now it’s time to get a laptop, then a Blackberry, then an iPhone, and so it goes. If you have a business, you do the same thing (only with more expensive equipment like servers and computer networks). This is simply what it takes to stay connected and have access to all our information instantly at home, at work, and on the go.
Now that you have all these devices, how do you share information between them? Manually reentering your contacts from your computer into your phone is time consuming and frustrating. Backing up files and transferring them from your laptop to your desktop and vice versa can be done with a flash drive, but doing this every day is a bore. Setting up and maintaining a computer network is challenging and expensive. It can also pose a security risk for your data if you aren’t tech savvy.
Pulling It All Together
What if you could have access to everything you need without all these extra steps? That’s possible with a cloud computing infrastructure. At its most basic level, cloud computing works kind of like a water utility company. Instead of everyone having a well in their backyard, we’re all hooked up to a central reservoir. We can go anywhere there is a faucet and turn it on to get fresh, clean water. With cloud computing solutions, you have access to all of your applications and data from any internet capable device.
Here’s just a sampling of the kind of activities you can enjoy when you enter the cloud:
- Check for messages and manage your contacts with Gmail
- Sync your calendar with those of friends and family members with Google Calendar
- Share photos on Flickr
- Post a blog update on TypePad
- Stay on top of the latest news with Google Reader
- Add items to your Amazon wish list so people can buy you more gadgets!
Plenty of business tools are available in the cloud as well. These include applications such as Google Docs, Google Talk, Salesforce, Web TimeSheet, and Engage B2B.
Keeping It Simple - and Cheap
Cloud computing is about more than just convenience. It’s also cost effective. You don’t have to pay a tech to set it up (or learn how yourself). There is no investment in network hardware or expensive bandwidth. Upgrades are handled automatically behind the scenes. Security isn’t your problem either (just pick a vendor who already has a good handle on this and you’ll be fine). You only pay for what you use; so you can scale up or back whenever you need to. Best of all, getting started is almost as easy as...turning on that water faucet.
So, now that you know how much cushier life can be in the cloud, why not come up here and join me? :-)
