Jan 12
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Over the past 3 years I have been going on and on about Cloud Computing and how the days of running applications on Laptops will soon be a thing of the past, and Servers will, like the fax machine gather dust before going to the recycling shredder. So this year I have decided to eat my own dog food and work 100% in the cloud.
To ensure my operation transformation to 100% cloud will work I needed to kit myself out with all the right ingredients and tools to help keep me on track. First step was to replace my ageing Netbook with a device that was within budget (€400) and did not come with all the extra baggage that ships with traditional computers. I was always a fan of thin client devices so moving to the Google Chromebook was an easy choice – No hard drive, No power hungry operating system – no additional add-ons to purchase to make it secure and finally no beefy applications to install before it was ready for use. I just turned it on and 10 seconds later I was online and ready to go.
Going on a new diet is always a challenge but when there are lots of new and tasty dishes to choose from then the easier it gets. Moving to the cloud is much the same and when you see the range of applications that are available you will not be disappointed. Here are my top five Cloud Apps that I use every day to help keep my business in top shape. For a comprehensive list of Cloud Applications see the Google Apps Marketplace and the Chrome Web Store.
Celebrating its 5th Birthday this year, Google Apps for Business is used by over 4 million businesses for email, document collaboration and voice & video communications. Google Apps now incorporates Google’s new social network Google+. Businesses can now easily build stronger relationships with customers by sharing photos, links, promotions and company news with the right contacts at the right time. The cornerstone for any size of business moving to the cloud should be Google Apps for Business.
2. General Audit Tool for Google Apps
This free tool is a must for any businesses that use Google Docs for collaboration. I have been using Google docs for over two years now and I need to be able to run quick reports to see what documents I own and which documents I have shared out with others. This audit tool highlights in RED any documents that I have made public which is a great security feature as mistakes do happen.
A CRM application is only as good as the data it contains. The easier a user can update a CRM application with current information then the more success they will have using it. Built right into Gmail, Insightly can keep track of your email messages and ingeniously associates and links each message saved with the right contacts and organizations so you have a complete email history – all without lifting a finger. With one click you can easily create tasks and opportunities from the Insightly gadget in Gmail making life much easier for the account manager or sales rep. The automatic email reminder on tasks will improve your overall management of prospects and customers.
Q. Which computer is the accounts computer?
A. All of Them!
Yendo is a cloud accounting package for SME’s that can be used from anywhere, anytime and from any Computer, Smartphone, Chromebook, iPad or Tablet. It has everything you need to manage invoicing, purchases, expenses and payments. You can also make use of single sign-on and integrated information by adding Yendo to your Google Apps account.
Houston – We have no problem…
Project Managers need to manage people, tasks and money to succeed. This smart cloud Project Management software helps you plan, monitor and report on your projects. As well as including all of the commonly used features found in Microsoft Project, this online project management software tells you the actual vs. planned progress as it happens. Because it’s cloud based you can login from anywhere, anytime to check on the status of your projects. You can print your status with the click of a button, or export your reports to PDF, Word or Excel to customize them on your desktop.
It’s so safe and secure that NASA trusts it to help manage their projects.
Seeing is believing
If you would like to witness me eating my own dog food then you are welcome to join us at the Going Google Cloud Computing Roadshow in Google’s Dublin offices on Thursday 2nd February at 8.30am. You will see first hand why businesses of all sizes use Google Apps as their tool of choice for cloud productivity and collaboration.
Check out the agenda and register @ http://www.go-oodles.com/index.php/2012/01/going-google-roadshow-dublin-feb-2nd-2012/
Unfortunately due to prior commitments my dog Toby (Pictured) is unavailable to attend.
