Many business owners who are thinking about going to the cloud are wondering about this: What is it like working in the cloud? If you asked me, I have a thing or two to share… read on.
I work at home. I, in fact, work online. I run online business and the only 2 things I need in running my business is a mobile device, preferably a laptop or at least a tablet PC, and a reliable Internet connection.
My typical workday in the cloud
photo credit: kcolwell via photopin cc
My typical day in the cloud starts with checking my emails. I use Gmail for my general emails. I also use Mozilla Thunderbird for emails coming from several of my blogs. For the other 2 blogs, I use email hosting services, powered by Open-Xchange (OX). I can check ALL of my emails wherever I am. Actually, I can even check my emails without any of my own device. All I need is to go to an Internet cafe and there you go – I work in the cloud.
Other than Gmail, I use other apps in Google Apps, such as Google Calendar. I schedule everything from Google Calendar, and I can access it via a web browser via my laptop or an app via my tablet PC. I also get reminders on important events – such as contacting clients or doing the necessary work for my sites – from my smartphone.
When I need to contact my virtual employee (Virtual Assistant), I either use Skype or email. To contact someone with a Blackberry from my Android smartphone, I opt for What’s App for free communication.
As I am actually a blogger, I write my blog post using either my laptop or my tablet; well, mainly from my laptop, though. As all of my blogs are running on WordPress platform, I can manage them all using a web-based app, ManageWP. It’s free and I think the free feature is sufficient for me (auto files and database backup to my Dropbox account!)
So, I have two dashboards for me to do business – Google Apps for managing the business side, and ManageWP for managing my WordPress sites.
In the near future, I will add more web-based tools to support my cloud working endeavor: I have registered with Mint to help me manage my personal finance – in the cloud; I am planning to use online collaboration tool like Huddle, but I will wait until I outsource more work to more freelancers.
In the mean time, I am planning to have a mini break… and bring my family and my entire business along with me. I enjoy being location independent!
Takeaway
As you can see, my typical workday involves using cloud services to support my projects and tasks. Everything is accessible via my laptop, tablet and smartphone. Physical location is not relevant for me.
Yes, I work in the cloud. Yes, it’s very much possible for you to do the same thing – thanks to cloud computing and mobile technology.
How about you? Are you working in the cloud? Please share your experience in cloud working by leaving a comment on this post…
