cloud computing

Cloud Computing and Your Wallet

Ben Edwards — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:48:19 +0000

There's an enormous flood of money rushing into the cloud computing industry (as you may have guessed from all the recent TV and internet ads). Whenever there are billions of dollars chasing a new innovation, it pays to ask questions about how it will impact you and your wallet. This article examines how cloud computing could effect you as a consumer, an employee, and as an investor. (See also: 6 Cloud Tools for Small Business)

Cloud Computing for Consumers

One of the reasons that cloud computing has become so heavily used is because of the popularity of mobile devices. Chances are you've already been accessing the cloud in some form through your computer, phone, or iPad. Tablets and phones don't have the same processing power or storage space that we've become accustomed to on our desktops or laptops. So if you have a big audio or video file you want to save or you want to run a program that needs a lot of computing "muscle," your mobile device isn't really equipped to handle it. That's where the cloud steps in. Behind the scenes, the cloud is a huge collection of massive computers that have plenty of storage space and lots of processing power.

Your phone uses the cloud for storage or processing and just shows you the results. In a way, your phone is like your tiny window into the cloud. Many of the new mobile applications that have sprung up in the last few years are made possible by cloud computing. For example, Foursquare uses Amazon Web Services to help bring you deals from local businesses.

Of course, it's not only mobile devices that tap into the cloud. Services like DropBox, Microsoft SkyDrive, iCloud, SugarSync, and Mozy make it relatively cheap to backup your songs, pictures, and data (and also have mobile access). We all know how time consuming and expensive it can be to replace lost data, so the fact that the cloud makes it easier to set and forget your backups makes it worth your while to investigate. Here's a chart that lets you sort and filter the top cloud data storage services.

Cloud Computing for Employees

Cloud computing has enabled a major shift in the way small and large companies handle their IT needs. Many small businesses pay for hardware, software, and employees or consultants to set up and maintain more IT infrastructure than they actually need or use. The cloud model helps to change that problem for businesses. The cloud lets them rent processing power and disk space as they need it. They only pay for what they use, so the average business that uses its own servers just for email and back office functions stands to save some money by using the cloud.

These new services could be good news if they free up some money in your employer’s budget. The bad news is that if you're one of the IT workers that has been building and administering email or file servers for years, this shift could put your job in jeopardy as more of those functions are outsourced.

On the other hand, the growing trend of sending things to the cloud means that there are growing companies in the cloud industry that need people with IT skills to manage all the servers and data they're supporting.

Cloud Computing for Investors

If you’d like to invest some of your money in cloud technology, there are several ways you can buy shares in cloud computing companies. The most difficult is probably investing in new cloud startups like dotCloud and CopperEgg. These start-ups often get their funding from angel investors and venture capitalists. So not only do you need larger sums to invest, but the new technologies are still proving themselves and can offer more risk.

Another group of companies are ones that have been providing a variety of functions in the cloud computing industry for several years and have established products and cash flow. Some of the publicly traded companies whose products are used heavily in cloud computing are Riverbed Technology (RVBD), F5Networks (FFIV), VMWare (VMW), and Rackspace (RAX).

A third group of companies are the tech giants that sell software, hardware, or infrastructure that are used in cloud computing. Companies like IBM (IBM), Amazon (AMZN), Oracle (ORCL), and Microsoft (MSFT) obviously aren’t pure cloud computing investments, but they all offer products or services that businesses can use to take advantage of cloud computing.

Hopefully this quick overview of how the cloud can impact your wallet has been helpful. If there are other ways I’ve missed, please leave them in the comments below.

This article is from Ben Edwards of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How Cloud-Based Systems Trim Your Operating Costs

Annie Mueller — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:26:36 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/how-cloud-based-systems-trim-your-operating-co...

Enter the cloud. It's calling you. It wants to save you money. Actually, it wants to make money off of your business, but if you're even a little bit aware of what you're doing, you'll save money by switching to cloud-based computer applications rather than traditional solutions. Say hello to a brave new world of business conducted in the stratosphere and enjoy the very earthly delight of a larger profit margin.

Email Service with Adequate Storage

Public institutions and large companies often host their own servers for email services, but the number of users times the number of emails mean that they have to cap everyone at a storage limit. People get a little uneasy when they have to actually delete old emails which may hold important information. Archiving is so much nicer. Cloud-based email solutions (yes, of course, Google's Gmail is the top dog here) provide nearly infinite storage capacity for a much reduced cost.

JBI Studios switched from a traditional server-based email provider to cloud-based Google Apps and is saving $75 per user per year. Not bad.

Office Space and Meeting Space

The actual physical space needed to hold workers and conduct business can be one of the largest ongoing expenses for a small business; what if you could reduce that expense, or even eliminate it altogether? Cloud-based systems, from Skype to instant messaging, chat, synced calendars, file storage and transfer, and online, accessible project management, eliminate the need for all the worker bees to be in the same physical hive.

Telecommuting gives your employees greater flexibility (and, often, greater productivity, according to this study from WorkShifting.com) while cutting the cost of office space with its office phone system, furniture, utilities, and maintenance. The same goes for meetings. Feel free to rent a conference room at the local hotel, or use any number of cloud-based meeting solutions (iMeet, WebEx, GlobalMeet). Or just schedule a group call over Skype.

Data Storage and Server Space

Every business has some data to save, and some businesses have a lot of data to save. Data, as boring as it may be, is expensive to store securely if you're doing so on your own servers. You can either purchase and maintain your own servers, or pay someone else to use their physical servers, or switch to the cloud.

Crooner Labs went from six physical servers at a cost of $3000 per month for upkeep to cloud-based storage, which costs them less than $1200 per month.

Those are perhaps the three most dramatic examples, but there are many more ways that using the cloud can help your business run more efficiently for less money.

Software upgrades and subscriptions: purchase expensive software for your employees or use cloud-based software and systems, for everything from document creation to accounting.
Phone systems: a cloud-based phone solution can save you hundreds per month. Monaco Baking Co. switched from their provider to a cloud-based phone service for savings of $600 per month. There are also free cloud-based conference calling services your small business can use.
Customer service: cloud-based solutions for customer service have totally changed the way many companies handle this area, which can become a huge issue when small businesses grow suddenly. There are various ways to take advantage of cloud-based solutions for customer service; you can set up a call center with telecommuting workers, for example, or use a service to receive and respond to customer support tickets.
Employee training: Webinars and online training courses eliminate the need for travel expenses and still allow you to keep your employees updated and educated.
Research: Virtual access to research journals, university archives, libraries, magazines, and, um, what's that other one? Ah yes. Books. Search and find for free; often, read and use for free as well.

The ability to scale is perhaps the most valuable characteristic of cloud-based business services. You can start with a service you like, buy in at the level you need, and transition up the scale as your business grows. This ability to spend money only on the services you need now gives you much-needed breathing room. You can increase your service, and corresponding cost, as you see actual business growth. And your increased spending will, most likely, still be far less with cloud-based solutions, allowing you to invest back into your own business.

This article is from Annie Mueller of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

6 Cloud Tools for Small Business

Heather Allard — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:46:46 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/6-cloud-tools-for-small-business

Whether you’re running your small business out of your home, your garage, or even Timbuktu, there are incredible technologies, tools, and services that’ll make managing your small business easier and help you work and earn better, faster and smarter. Here are a few I've found particularly helpful.

Accounting

I know, I know. Accounting’s not my thing either. But like many things in life (and business), it’s is a necessary evil.

So make it easy – and automatic – with Outright, a company whose tagline is,“Free yourself from accounting”.

Outright was created specifically for small business owners like us and provides a simple way to record income and expenses, pay the right taxes, and keep our businesses on track and growing. The nifty (and comprehensive) reports alone make the $9.95 monthly fee well worth it.

Outright takes just minutes to set up and then all your business stuff is safe, secure, and accounted for.

File Storage

Have you ever lost a file that you’d been working on for hours? Forgot to save your big presentation on your laptop? Or how about this – your computer crashed and you lost your entire email database, contacts and all. Sounds familiar, right?

Yep. We’ve all been there, lost that.

Fortunately the folks at Dropbox offer a free service that lets you safely store 2 GBs of photos, docs, and videos in one place. Of course, they'll sell you more GBs if you need them.

Any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website. Even if you accidentally spill a juicebox on your laptop, you can relax knowing that Dropbox always has you covered. Beyond safe backups and easy file synching, Dropbox lets you quickly share files and folders with clients and colleagues.

Time Tracking

Working from home certainly has its upside, but one of the biggest downsides is how easy it is to lose track of time and spend the whole day surfing the web. One minute you’re busily working and the next, you’re sharing The Oatmeal cartoons with your Facebook friends wondering how it got to be 5 o’clock.

Losing track of time is especially bad for service providers who bill clients by the hour and have to provide a project status update each day. Ruh-roh.

Enter Chrometa, the app that tracks your time without notes or timers. Chrometa logs all your computer activity and breaks down your time by application, e-mail, Web page, and document.

Chrometa installs in minutes on both Mac and PC and makes time tracking an easy task. And the depth of its reporting may also keep you on task and off Facebook.

Scheduling

Ring, ring…

If your business involves booking appointments, then check out Schedulicity, a web-based scheduling tool that will instantly plug your business into three of the fastest growing trends in America – social media, mobile internet, and online scheduling.

With Schedulicity, you have full control over your calendar and can access it anytime, anywhere.

And Schedulicity puts your calendar where your clients are, online. Clients can book appointments with you 24/7 – on your website , on your Facebook page, or from their iPhone, Android, or Blackberry – instead of using them to play phone tag.

Information Organization

Let’s face it, we’re all on information overload.

Sticky notes covering the fridge, mile-long bookmarks online, and a desk somewhere beneath all those papers.

Enter Evernote, digital storage that lets you capture anything and remember everything, right from your computer, desktop, and even your mobile devices.

Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable with Evernote. You can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks. Later, you can search your notes by keywords, titles, and tags. Evernote even makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable.

So go ahead, type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Record a voice memo.

Evernote will keep it all safe and ready for you when you need it.

Email Signature

If you’re looking for an easy way to transform your boring old email into a powerful marketing tool, Wisestamp is the coolest way to do it.

With Wisestamp, you can easily customize your email signature with your social profiles and add auto-updating dynamic content to your outgoing email, like your newest eBay item for sale, most recent blog post, your latest tweet or a cause that you promote. You can also make your Wisestamp signature match your branding by getting creative with fonts and colors, and by adding images and logos to your Wisestamp signature.

The recipients of your email will see the updated content of the Email App and will be able to interact with it directly from the email – for example, they can link over to your latest blog post, follow you on Twitter or buy an item in your eBay shop.

Pretty cool, huh?

Wisestamp is currently available for the Firefox, Chrome (my favorite browser) and Safari browsers and works with Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail email platforms. It’s fast and easy to install and configure, which means your email will be ready to do your marketing for you in no time.

This article is from Heather Allard of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Tricks for Cutting Training Costs

Thursday Bram — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:11:34 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/10-tricks-for-cutting-...

It may seem that the costs that go along with hiring a new employee mostly have to do with the cost of her salary or the work necessary to find her. But the costs of getting a new hire up to speed in your business are not insignificant — making it important keep a good grip on those costs wherever possible. These ten suggestions may be able to bring your training costs down for any new employee that you bring in.

1. Have a Plan in Place

Especially in smaller businesses that don't need to hire new employees regularly — or that are hiring their first one or two employees — training is just expected to happen. You get the new hire into the office and show her how to do everything that you do over the course of a couple of days. But that haphazard approach to training can be costly, at least in terms of the time you're spending on the project rather than on what you really need to be doing. Having a clear training plan lets you go through the process quickly and efficiently.

2. Put Your Employee Manual Online

The cost of printing a new employee manual for every new hire, along with updating it in the future, is one that can be avoided entirely. By using a tool such as Google Docs, you can provide everyone with the most up-to-date version of your employee manual available with no printing costs.

3. Provide Employees with Reference Manuals

Especially when you expect new employees to learn a complex tool or piece of software, it's useful to give them reference manuals. If employees have a clear guide to turn to, you don't have to provide them with absolutely perfect training. They don't have to get every detail right in the time you set aside for training because they can refer back to manuals when they have a question.

4. Stagger Training Days

Your new hires will need training far beyond what it takes to get them into the swing of things now. That makes delaying a little of their training possible, since you'll likely want to get your team members in the habit of thinking of how they can keep learning and improving their abilities to do their jobs. You will need to know exactly what your employees need to do their jobs immediately and what can be delayed, however.

5. Standardize Your Processes

It can be harder for small businesses to establish a standard way to handle every sort of task, but the more you can create a set of processes your employees can always follow, the faster you can get them trained. With a list of standard approaches in hand, new hires may even be able to reduce the number of questions they have to ask you to get up to speed, while still reducing errors or potential problems, because they can refer to your documentation.

6. Team Up with Other Employers

If there are other companies in the area that use the same software packages or tools that your company relies on, bringing in a trainer for that tool can become more cost-effective. Sharing a trainer can bring down the cost while still getting your employees ready to work with you. While you may not feel comfortable teaming up with your competition, there are likely businesses in other industries with at least a little overlap in their training needs.

7. Choose Lasting Training Materials

If you can find training materials that you'll be able to use long-term, you can eliminate costs that go along with either spending the time to train a new hire personally or to routinely buy new training materials every time you have bring in another employee. The biggest pitfall with training materials is with technical tools and software packages. If you update your tools, you may need to update your training materials as well. Taking that factor into choosing tools can help bring down overall costs.

8. Appoint Mentors for New Hires

A large part of training for new hires is really a matter of orientation, rather than adding to their skill sets. By having someone in the office that your new employee knows she can always turn to, you can reduce her dependence on learning how the office operates by rote and speeding up the process. A mentor can also answer questions as they come up, an important consideration in a business that doesn't have a full-time human resources staff to answer questions.

9. Consider Outsourcing Training

As long as your company's processes are fairly standard, you may be able to outsource at least parts of a new hire's training. While that approach can have a sizable upfront fee, it's likely less than you would spend piecemeal (in both time and money) to train your employee yourself. It's not necessarily the simplest option for every company (getting your approach to different tasks standardized can be costly, depending on your industry) but for some businesses, it's the right fit.

10. Return to Your Plans

Your business will change over time and what worked when you first started out may no longer be a good way to keep your training costs down as your company evolves. Taking a look at the strategies you use regularly can help you catch potential issues before they start tying up more of your money than really necessary in your training program. The same holds true for planning training beyond the initial orientation your employees need. For your employees to be able to move forward, take on new responsibilities and help your business to grow, you need to routinely revisit what you're doing to further educate them.

This article is from Thursday Bram of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Unlikely Sources of Capital

Julie Rains — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:42:31 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/unlikely-sources-of-capit...

Entrepreneurs who run profitable businesses have told me that they regularly access capital apart from tapping bank credit lines, attracting angel investors, borrowing money from friends and family, and digging into their own personal wealth. In the past couple of years, their businesses have added new product lines, hired employees, expanded facilities, and experienced tremendous growth.

Being frugal frees cash to fund growth initiatives, and these owners have certainly exercised prudent spending. But there are creative and financially-savvy ways to build growth capital without the exhibiting Scrooge-like behavior, sacrificing quality, or shifting focus from purpose to cost-cutting programs. Unlikely sources of capital and substitutes for outside cash infusion that can support growth include:

Using Research and Development by Outside Organizations

R&D performed by vendors and university labs, for example, can dramatically lower a business’s needs for capital to drive development of new products. Rather than spend on running a lab dedicated to research or software development, businesses can refine, repackage, and resell cutting-edge products using someone else’s ideas.

For example, Chuck Goad of BrookStone Technology leveraged the strength of a larger technology company that created electronic medical record (EMR) software. Chuck recognized growth potential in the healthcare industry, but he didn’t want to dedicate resources to the development, testing, and launch of EMR solutions. He partnered with a third-party developer and applied working capital to hiring a sales representative to build a local market for the solution.

Your business may be able to locate a research-oriented organization that needs a partner to identify and market commercial applications of its intellectual property.

Cloud Computing

Your business can pay a monthly fee for web-based systems and applications technology services rather than spend money for infrastructure and software design, development, maintenance, upgrades, security, and more.

Tax Deductions

Make sure that your business is tracking all qualifying deductions to lower taxes. Things likely to be forgotten are out-of-pocket expenses, so remember to hand those receipts to your accountant along with explanations of their business purposes.

Take a Section 179 deduction on purchases of qualifying property (e.g., equipment and furniture), rather than deducting depreciation charges over the next several years. Though depreciation more accurately spreads the cost of the equipment, furniture, etc. over its useful life, deducting the full cost of a purchase will reduce taxes now.

Credit Lines with Vendors and Grace Periods on Card Charges

Not having to pay immediately will allow your business to receive and use products or services for a specified period (very often, about 30 days) prior to invoice due dates. During this time, your business can distribute products or deliver projects using services supplied by vendors to generate sales and collect payments from customers. As a result, cash is available when invoices are due. Even if there is a lag between receipt of customer payments and invoice due dates, any credit extended by vendors or card companies can shorten the days that your business needs to borrow money or tie up its cash.

Faster Payments from Customers and Quicker Deposits to Your Bank Account

Speeding up these processes reduces the need for borrowing from a credit line so that your business can pay its employees and vendors. Consider online invoicing and accounts receivable management as a technique to get your money as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Sharing, Leasing, or Borrowing Equipment

Consider alternatives to outright purchases. Copiers, common-area refrigerators, and grounds maintenance equipment, for example, are candidates for renting, sharing with neighboring tenants, or borrowing from trusted colleagues.

Agile Inventory Management

This focuses resources on high-turn, fast-moving products rather than tying up cash in inventory. For example, purchasing agents at ValuePetSupplies.com place orders on a daily basis to ensure quick replenishment of inventory without overloading on merchandise.

If your business is adding new items, consider buying a small quantity and testing its appeal with your customers. This approach worked beautifully for Heidi Kallett of The Dandelion Patch in evaluating new price points of an existing product line. When the item sold quickly, she increased her stock levels.

Patience

Many would-be business owners have spoken with me about their eagerness to get bank funding or investor cash quickly in order to take advantage of (what they perceived to be) hot business opportunities. Even experienced business owners are often ready to make changes that require immediate cash outlays. Patience can yield financial benefits.

For example, when Heidi decided to update her company’s logo and its color scheme to reflect a premier brand, she didn’t rush to replace marketing collateral, redo the interiors of her stores, and redesign the website. Her company continued to use its logoed business cards, shopping bags, etc. but when supplies ran out, she replenished the collateral pieces with upgraded logos. She will update colors when it’s time to refresh the look of the stores and the website.

Zach Piech of ValuePetSupplies.com told me that having to delay the launch of a new product line can be frustrating but worth the wait financially. Instead of borrowing from a bank to bring in inventory, he generated capital from business profit margins. In one case, the need for extra funds solidified the decision to discontinue a low-margin product category with a high customer return rate in order to free cash for less problematic, higher-profit product lines.

Traditional sources of capital, such as bank financing or outside investing, may not be an option for many businesses. Deftly leveraging other people’s assets and being the best possible steward of your business’s assets can give you the resources to grow.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Save Your Family Memories With Cloud Computing

Amy Lu — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:00:07 +0000

When I had dinner with some friends recently, I told them about a trip I will be taking next year to attend a cousin's wedding. One friend made this observation: "Wow," she said, "everyone in your family is getting married." It was an exaggeration (not everyone is getting married), but her point was valid: many in my generation are coming into the family-making phase of our lives. We're getting married. We're having kids. You know what that means?

Pictures. And Videos. Lots of them.

I always liked the idea of scrapbooking to organize pictures, and making home videos to watch together when the extended family gathers for big events. But that limits the sharing to certain times of the year only, and only to the folks who can actually make it. Unfortunately, family who live across the country — or in different countries — will inevitably miss out on the memories. Sure, you can send physical copies, but that can get expensive, fast.

Oh, who am I kidding? In this day and age, most family photos and videos are distributed online. And with the help of cloud computing, your family can even create a scrapbook or newsletter together, so everyone can keep everyone else up to date on family goings-on.

You may ask, what is cloud computing, anyway? It's simply a fancy term for Internet-based computing, where applications, files, and resources are stored in distant servers away from your computer. You can access these resources on demand, from any computer. Any time you're using Flickr, Yahoo Mail, Google Docs, Office Live, or MobileMe, you are "on the cloud."

Here's the kicker: You can grant other people access to the applications, files, and resources that you use on the cloud, making collaboration on a family scrapbook or newsletter easy as pie. Usually, all it takes is signing up for whatever service you decide to use — and there are many to choose from. Here are just a few.

LetterPop

With almost 300 templates to choose from, LetterPop makes it easy to create newsletters perfect for any occasion, season, or theme. While you can't share your work on LetterPop with other users, you can make it a family project with your kids. Give the older ones a section to write their own blurbs and let the younger ones help you choose your favorite photos to share. You can upload image files from your computer, or drag-and-drop directly from Flickr. Since everything you need is stored on your LetterPop account, you can work on your newsletter anywhere, anytime.

Chattertree

Most of my family (the computer-using ones, at least) are on Facebook — but not all of them. So when someone shares wedding photos or baby videos, those who didn't want to deal with Facebook's ever-changing privacy issues also don't get to Oooh and Awww with the rest of us. Chattertree is a solution to this problem. In a way, Chattertree very much like Facebook: You can message people, set birthday alerts, share photos and videos. But unlike Facebook, you get to do video chats with up to six people (or families), and it's a private family network — so anyone concerned about embarrassing photos of you wearing a Snuggie on Christmas morning can rest easy knowing that none of my friends will accidentally stumble on it. Um, I mean 'none of your friends.' Hypothetically, of course.

Google Docs and Microsoft Office

LetterPop and Chattertree are helpful services to sign up for, and they're super easy to use, but you do have some resources that you and other members of your family are probably already familiar with: Google Docs and Microsoft Office.

When you sign up for Gmail — or any other Google service — you gain access to their entire suite of applications. With Google Documents, you can create a scrapbook using one of their templates — simply type in 'scrapbook' in the search field of Google's templates page, and choose one that you like. While the selection is somewhat limited right now, it's fairly easy to upload your own backgrounds and graphics for a personal touch. As with most of Google's other applications, you can share your work-in-progress with other people and let them edit the scrapbook to add their own memories and highlights.

On the newsletter front, Microsoft Office has your back. Just choose a newsletter template when you open a new document, and fill in text boxes and insert photos like you would with any Office template. Rearranging body text, photos, captions, and titles is easy — anyone who has worked with Office probably already knows how to do it. And with Windows Live SkyDrive, you can upload and save your newsletter in the cloud and work on it later. When you're done, simply email it out to the family, either directly in the message or as an attachment.

Thanks to Windows 7 and Windows Live for sponsoring this post about how technology makes parenting so much easier. Visit Windows to learn more about the power of the Cloud and what it can do for you.

This article is from Amy Lu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How Parents Can Use Cloud Computing to Help With Homework

Paul Michael — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 22:14:53 +0000

It’s a sad-but-true fact that parents these days are busier than ever. The work day is rarely 9 to 5, the commute eats up time, and it’s very common for both parents to be employed full-time to make ends meet. But our nation’s children still have the same needs they’ve always had, and that includes school studies and homework. Additional tutoring outside of school hours by parents is invaluable for children. And that’s where cloud computing can really come to the rescue for parents everywhere.

Cloud computing is simply a fancy term for Internet-based computing, where applications, files, and resources are stored in distant servers away from your computer. You can access these resources on demand from any computer. Any time you’re using Flickr, Yahoo Mail, Google Docs, Office Live, or MobileMe, you are “on the cloud.”

Enter the Cloud and a New Level of Parental Involvement

Here’s a typical scenario that many of you may have faced on more than one occasion. Your business requires you to fly to another part of the country for a few days, be it to attend a meeting or conference, close a deal, or get additional training. As a parent, that leaves you out of reach. Sure, modern cell phones and laptops help you to stay in touch, but when it comes to helping with homework, most parents rely on email and a phone call as they’re stuck in their hotel rooms. And that’s, well, old-fashioned and clunky.

With cloud computing you can share the information on the laptop in front of you with the desktop computer at home, several thousand miles away, and vice-versa. And it’s instant, which means that when the all-important book report is due, you can enter the cloud with your young scholar and work on the project together in real time. You can access the report that has just been saved, make corrections, add notes in the margins, drag pictures into the file, and resave it. It basically allows you to collaborate with your child on a level that makes it seem like you’re in the same room. Add videoconferencing to the mix, and you have a virtual homework study session conducted across the country.

Be the Help They Need, Anytime, Anywhere

Cloud computing is not just confined to hotel rooms and home offices. The cloud is accessible anywhere you have access to the Internet. If you take the train or carpool to work every day, you can use that valuable time to collaborate with your children and assist with their homework assignments, research papers, and more. And they could be sitting in the local library, a school bus, or even at the school itself.

In fact, if your child’s school is also using cloud computing, you can tap into that resource, too. So when you have to deal with a panic-stricken teen who knows they have an essay to write but cannot recall the deadline, you can access the syllabus from the school and see the due dates of your child’s homework assignment.

And Remember, It’s For All Ages

For the most part, using cloud computing to help with your child’s homework is definitely aimed at older children and teens. However, we live in a computer-savvy society and cloud computing is just as accessible for younger children. Helping your 1^st grader to write a story, draw a picture, or do math can also be done using cloud-based learning tools disguised as games. Sometimes they may need another parent to help them get online, but after that it can be smooth sailing and a lot of fun.

The Cloud Is Here To Help — Jump In

There’s no better time for a parent to experience cloud computing. The technology is at a place that makes it easy to do, and more people than ever are using cloud computing to help with many aspects of family life. Homework is just a small, but important, part of it. Try it today and see what kind of a difference it can make to your busy life.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Keeping Business Records in the Cloud

Thursday Bram — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:25:18 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/keeping-business-rec...

Many businesses have made the switch to maintaining records electronically, but there's a step beyond simply getting all your records on your computer: putting them in the cloud. There are many benefits to having your business records in the cloud. You can access them from anywhere that you can find an internet connection, and you can keep your computer hardware to a minimum. However, there are some drawbacks as well — security remains a key concern for many businesses considering keeping their records in the cloud.

Why Use the Cloud

Dallon Christensen operates FirstStep Concepts, a business coaching firm. He has committed to maintaining all of his records in the cloud and actually relies entirely on software that is web-based. Christensen explains the logic behind his choices:

I was inspired to use web-based applications for three critical reasons. First, the applications deliver excellent value for the functionality they provide. A program like Google Apps provides essentially all of the functionality I need for word processing and a large amount of the functionality for spreadsheets, and it's free with a Google email account. When I compared the cost-benefit trade-offs of purchasing a Microsoft Office 2010 upgrade, the web-based tools provided much more value. Second, I do not want to struggle with data migration when switching computers. My current PC is nearly three years old, and I'm considering a MacBook for my next purchase...When I use web-based software, the computer hardware does not matter. Finally, sharing documents with others is very easy and makes working relationships more productive.

Christensen even recommends that his clients work primarily in the cloud, due to the benefits in provides in mobility and maintaining up-to-date files across multiple computers. Security is the biggest concern for many of these business owners, but Christensen has a response:

It is a valid point, but I would ask objectors what would happen if a company like Intuit or 37signals ever suffered a data security breach. The effects could possibly destroy those companies. The reputable web-based providers like Google, Intuit, and 37signals are staking their reputations and their livelihoods on securing your data. Their levels of data security far exceed the security we can do on our personal computers. I have more confidence that these companies can protect my data than I do protecting my own computer and flash drives from improper use.

Cloud-based services are especially important if you aren't always in the office: whether one of your employees needs to work from home or you are out making sales, you'll be able to access any of your business records that are in the web. That can mean presentations, invoices, and just about every other detail associated with your company. The number of online tools just keeps growing: you can keep your books, edit images, and even run training courses, all without installing a single piece of software.

And if something happens to your computer, from theft to damage, you'll still be able to access your data. By definition, cloud-based data do not rely on a single server. Even if something happens to the office of the company offering the online software, your data will be fine.

The Cost of the Cloud

One of the reasons that the popularity of using cloud-based tools, as well as other online software, for managing businesses, is the significantly lower prices that small businesses face when compared to the big upfront costs of new computers and software licenses. Christensen uses Google Docs for word processing, Highrise from 37signals for CRM, FreshBooks for accounting, and PlanHQ for business planning. He spends approximately $25 per month and can easily scale as his business grows by upgrading to an expanded version of the same service.

Those transitions are even easy. Christensen says:

My accounting software is an excellent example. As I work with more clients, I will upgrade to more expensive versions of my web-based accounting package. However, I will require no fixed costs and no hassle associated with installing new software. I will simply upgrade my account and increase my amount billed each month. The software provider performs the needed upgrades.

Most online software offers different levels of pricing based on how much you use the service in a given month. That allows you to customize the service to your business and reduce costs. You can also find tools that work particularly well for small businesses. For example, Freshbooks is integrated with several other online tools in order to allow you to access the same set of data you use for invoicing your clients to send out an email newsletter to those same clients. It minimizes work for you, as well as any need to duplicate information.

The Drawbacks to the Cloud

Beyond Christensen's clients, security remains a key concern. Many online services provide for the secure transmission of data for users along with many other security measures and, as long as the tools you're considering for storing your business records provide such security, it is unlikely that someone will gain unauthorized access to your data. However, unlikely is not the same thing as impossible. If you work with particularly sensitive information, you may need to add more security to the services you want to use or you may not be able to use those services.

Furthermore, there have been cases where major problems have occurred with some of the most prominent cloud-based services, resulting in some users losing data. If you do choose to upload all of your data, it's important to maintain a back up, either through another online service or locally. That way, if there is some sort of data loss, you can quickly restore information and get back to work.

Cloud-based services don't work for all businesses, but they do provide opportunities to many small businesses. It's crucial to look beyond the features of a particular tool and examine both its security and its track record to determine if it will work for your business.

This article is from Thursday Bram of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: