"The future is not 'go to my PC', it's 'go to my files'."
There's a new way to stay productive. Many technology companies try to convince you that the "future" of computing is being able to pay a company to connect to your home or office to access your files. That's not the future. The future is not "go to my PC", it's "go to my files". That's exactly what this is about. It's about unthethering your office files. You can do that with cloud office productivity services, such as Google Docs (and Google Docs is free).
Go To My Files
With cloud office software, the way you work at your office is the same way you work at home, or at the coffee shop you love or at that crowded airport you may not love so much. When you take the leap and move your files from the limited confines of your computer to the cloud, you enable yourself to work how you want. You don't have to be a globetrotter to benefit. You can be a person who has only one computer and does all their work from home or office. That's fine. In fact, this benefits you just as much, because you aren't expected to carry your documents around with you and certainly won't be prepared to do so. But when your out somewhere (or your computer won't boot up) and you need to access a certain document, you'll be able to do so.
johnBbaird.com Real World Example
When creating content for this web site, I write everything in Google Docs. I make sure all the spelling and grammar is correct and then I copy and paste it into my free HTML program Nvu and then copy the code into the web site. So every bit of text you see written on johnBbaird.com was written using Google Docs. But this could easy be done using Microsoft Word. But here's something you can't do with Microsoft Word.
"...every bit of text you see written on johnBbaird.com was written using Google Docs."
I wrote the "Unchain Your Office Files" section at home on my desktop. But I then had to leave for a consultation with a client. I arrived early, and my client called to let me know she was running a few minutes late, so I had some free time on my hands. What do I do? From my netbook, I go to Google Docs and load up the file I was working on and pick right back up where I left off. In fact, that "scenario" I mentioned happened while this section was written right here. No uploading a file to the web, no carrying around a USB thumb drive, no configuring software on multiple machines. It just works. Now that's what I call a real world example.
No Software, Just A Browser
Software is something the future of computing is moving more and more away from. You don't need software to access your word processor; only a browser. If you needed to download software, that just wouldn't work in the real world. You wouldn't be allowed to install software on public computers, such as Kinkos or the library, and your friends and colleges wouldn't want you installing anything on their computer just so you could access a document and, even when you were given the green light to install software on someone's computer, you'd have to worry about whether it was a PC or Mac, which version, etc, etc... With Google Docs, accessing your documents is just as easy as accessing Gmail. Nothing to install. Also, it works on all browsers and all operating systems. In other words, it just works.
No Internet Needed
Yes, you heard me right. There's a way to setup your cloud office suite so that you can access your documents even while your not online, all still from your web browser. You can setup a feature where you can sync your documents for offline viewing and editing.
You can open your browser and start working with your files on your laptop even if your out on a camping trip in the middle of nowhere. And when I mean middle of nowhere, I mean no internet connection and no cellular connect. As soon as you get back on the internet, all of the changes and files you've created get synced back online seamlessly.
Always Backed Up And Secure
One of the byproducts of having your files exist in the cloud is that they're also always backed up. None of your files exist on your computer so you never have to backup your files. They're already backed up because they exist in the cloud. It also is fully secure so that you don't have to worry about someone getting on any of your computers and copying your files if they don't have access to your account.
Cloud Files To Real Files
Just because your files exist in the cloud doesn't mean you can't "get" your files. You can download and save your documents in many different formats, such as Microsoft Word, PDF, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Powerpoint and more. That way if someone asks "email me this file", no problem. You simply download it to whatever file format and email it to them.
Making Nice With Others
One of the most useful and innovative features is the ability to share your documents and projects with others. You can share a file with one person (or 100) and allow them to view your file in their browser, all without having to download any extra software. In fact, using this method you know the person on the receiving end will never have the excuse that they "couldn't check out your file" because of software issues. If they're able to view google.com or wikipedia.org, they're able to view your document. No flash, no complicated plug-ins to install. Just works.
"You can share a file with one person (or 100) and allow them to view your file in their browser, all without having to download any extra software."
It doesn't end there. Not only can you share your documents with people, you can also invite collaborators to work on a project or file with you. Because your files all exist in the cloud, this works perfectly and in real time. Your able to see exactly when someone is editing a file and visa-versa. Not only that, but all changes are saved as revisions. That means if you let someone edit a section of a document and they make a mistake, you can go back into the history of the document to restore the parts I want to keep. It's an amazing system and amazingly simple.
Book Author Real World Example
A client of mine is a retired doctor. But that's not what he's best known for. After retirement, he started writing non-fiction books about his stories as a surgeon during the Vietnam war and has won many awards for his published books. He was writing his latest book differently than any of his other books. For this book, he was writing it with the (then) brand new Google Docs. I wasn't the one who showed him Google Docs, in fact, he was the one who showed me.
"He laughed and said 'Yes, I can, but I don't. I haven't told him I'm using Google Docs. I don't like being bugged while writing, so he still thinks I'm using Microsoft Word!'."
He was using Google Docs because he wanted a way for his next book to be always backed up and secure. He also used Google Docs because he did some of his writing from his desk, some writing from his laptop out on his patio and some of his writing out traveling on the road. Google Docs allowed him to access and write his book from any computer with (and even without) an internet connection. A win-win for him. When I suggested "Oh, that's also great because you can invite your publisher to view your book while your writing it.". He laughed and said "Yes, I can, but I don't. I haven't told him I'm using Google Docs. I don't like being bugged while writing, so he still thinks I'm using Microsoft Word!".
Your Existing Files Can Be Moved To The Cloud
Don't worry about the transition from the old to the new. Your old files can be imported into the cloud. Your five year old Microsoft Excel file can exists forever now as a file of yours in the cloud. You can setup and arrange folders in the cloud, just as you do on your computer and you can organize your documents in those folders.
Unthether Your Productivity
Get in touch with me and I'll get you setup with an office in the clouds.