The past two weekends my wife and I traveled to visit family. I’m a fan of traveling, but I’ve never been a fan of packing. In addition to clothes and toiletries, now we have to be concerned with access to business stuff plus you want stuff to do. So here’s what we took in addition to our clothes:
- A filing cabinet with all my wife’s business files
- Over 10,000 songs
- Thousands of photos
- Thousands of movies
- 100+ books
- All on 2 smartphones (Android. Sorry Apple, but Android does cloud way better).
“The cloud” simply put is nothing more than storing files and data online while being able to use them easily as well. All that’s needed is an internet connected device. This makes a lot of sense for both personal and professional applications.
For example, while on a little trip we stopped off to eat. While in the restaurant my wife received a phone call requesting an important document for a customer. My wife said, “No problem. I will send it right over.”. She hung up, accessed the document via the Dropbox.com app on her phone, and emailed it over. The whole thing . . . 3 minutes and no laptop needed.
So what’s a “cloud solution” look like?
I was asked what I thought was the best solution a few weeks ago, and the answer really depends on what it is you are attempting to accomplish and who it is primarily for (i.e. individual, group collaboration, professional vs personal, etc.).
The basics of any cloud solution are access to the following via any computer or mobile device with an internet connection and without specific software:
- Contacts
- Documents
- Other files (i.e. PDF’s, photos, etc)
There are several companies that offer most of this all in one solution, but an additional service may be beneficial (i.e. Dropbox). I primarily use Google because under my Google Account I get email, online contacts, online document storage, online applications for creating documents, photo storage through Picasa, eBooks, online Music storage, mapping, so forth and so on. All of which ties in together and syncs up very nicely with Android devices with a single sign-on.
I use Dropbox.com for important documents stored in folders that might change because Dropbox.com offers on-going “syncing” of those folders and documents. So if I add or update a document in a Dropbox designated folder from my PC or mobile device, it’s automatically updated in both places. Google Docs is great for storing documents online too and is the only thing many people might need.
From a group collaboration aspect such as an office or team, a cloud solution should be about everyone using the same platform. This is one of the reasons I suggest Google Apps for Business for parish offices as a solution. This basically operates like regular Google Accounts for each but using your domain name and the Administrator(s) can designate with services the accounts have the ability to set up user-specific accounts to (i.e. YouTube accounts, Picasa Web Albums, etc.). The benefits being that users are more comfortable with applications they are most likely already using, costs for equipment and software goes way down, and you gain a lot more flexibility. Plus it ties in very nicely with Android and iOS mobile devices. This is the same solution we use for my wife’s business. Again, we use Dropbox.com for important files and folders that are constantly updated.
To Sum It Up
“The cloud”, or storing things online for easy access, is becoming more and more common-place and very beneficial for individuals and groups (i.e. parish offices). Google, in my opinion, has been the best at offering this type of solution with a lot of storage (for most people) in an easy-to-use format and all in one spot. Microsoft offers SkyDrive and web versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. I like these but they’re only now really getting this to be easy to use. Apple has also finally come around with iOS5 and iCloud, but you’re tied to Apple products whereas Google is more versatile with all platforms even outside of Android.
I do have to say that Google has done a n amazing job recently of really bringing all of their products together with tie-in’s. Plus the Android Market Place now has apps, games, ebooks, music, and movies (rentals and purchase). I like iOS, but Android has really come around and I find it to work faster and easier.
What cloud questions do you have?
How much do you store online nowadays and are you finding yourself less dependent on that PC’s hard drive?
