Cloud Software - What do you use?

[Kevin-shopVOX]

I"m just curious to as to what types of cloud based software or mobile apps you might be using to help manage your jobs, expenses, time etc. I also wanted to share some of the ones that I use that might help you from time to time.

Obviously for me SignVOX is a must have for estimating & pricing, job management, sales lead managment, task management and a variety of business information plus I can pair that with the mobile app to make my life that much easier.

I'm also heavily integrated with Google (docs, photos, calendar, email) even more now with Google+ which I really like. If you want to stay up to date with SignVOX's news, features and videos just add me to your circles or I can do the same. lake1101@gmail.com.

I also use Wordpress to manage blogs and CMS sites and their mobile apps work really well as well.

Mailchimp.com is a great email marketing platform which is many of us can fall under the free account aspect which blows constant contact out of the water. Plus their chimpadeedoo app is really sweet if you attend tradeshows/chamber events and are looking for contact signups.

MyMeasures is a great mobile app for iphone, ipad, & android for doing site surveys.

DropBox.com is essential for file synchronization and large file transfer situations.

Expensify.com is a great little gem for managing expenses and will even export to quickbooks. (wow talk about really easy when you use that with SignVOX's export feature)

SwiFTP app for android rooted phones is a nice feature to get files off of your SDCard without a cable plus there are many other applications for it.

What are some of the ones you are using? I'd love to hear.

 

[cgsigns_jamie]

I would be lost without Wunderlist
It's a cloud based task list, and it's free!

 

[Kevin-shopVOX]

I would be lost without Wunderlist
It's a cloud based task list, and it's free!

Yeah Wunderlist is a good one. I'm also a big fan of Evernote

 

[Techman]

And I am a fan of avoiding cloud networks.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

+1

I'm old school I guess. I don't really see a need for cloud service.
I find it funny how the term "cloud" has been coined and now these old services have a new trendy sheen to them.

Not a fan.

And I am a fan of avoiding cloud networks.

 

[Mike F]

+1

I'm old school I guess. I don't really see a need for cloud service.
I find it funny how the term "cloud" has been coined and now these old services have a new trendy sheen to them.

Not a fan.

+1 also. I don't like my files just floating around out there.

 

[Flame]

+3

Not a fan of the cloud at all. I operate my business and function perfectly well on a daily basis without it.

 

[SAS]

What's an app?






My phone doesn't do much of anything, it will send a text and make a call. I think I need to upgrade one day. I was thinking about getting a new phone that would work with squareup that would be kinda nice to have. With all the talk on here of the qr codes made me want a new phone. But I'm stuck in a contract til Dec. I had a blackberry but only had it about a year just did not use the internet on it. I had the blackberry about two years ago so I may give a smart phone a try again in Dec.

 

[njshorts]

+3

Not a fan of the cloud at all. I operate my business and function perfectly well on a daily basis without it.

same... had a short affair with dropbox, ended up setting up a storage box at my shop, accessible via VPN for the sales laptops.

 

[Mike F]

What's an app?






My phone doesn't do much of anything, it will send a text and make a call. I think I need to upgrade one day. I was thinking about getting a new phone that would work with squareup that would be kinda nice to have. With all the talk on here of the qr codes made me want a new phone. But I'm stuck in a contract til Dec. I had a blackberry but only had it about a year just did not use the internet on it. I had the blackberry about two years ago so I may give a smart phone a try again in Dec.

Sounds like me, I feel all sorts of out of date because my computer is the only thing I use the internet on. I'm still rockin an old LG slider phone that's gotta be 3 or 4 years old now (well, the model at least, I can never seem to hang on to a phone for more than a year or so before it breaks or I lose it). Used to play online with my xbox 360 but that took a crap on me a month or two ago. I can't ever see myself getting a tablet, they just seem like a total waste. I would really like an android phone, but at the same time I'm wary about spending a few hundred bucks on one, like I said, my phones never survive for too long, and if they do they end up disappearing anyway. The only reason I would consider getting one is because it would allow me to do more with something I already carry around anyway.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Sounds like me, I feel all sorts of out of date because my computer is the only thing I use the internet on. I'm still rockin an old LG slider phone that's gotta be 3 or 4 years old now (well, the model at least, I can never seem to hang on to a phone for more than a year or so before it breaks or I lose it). Used to play online with my xbox 360 but that took a crap on me a month or two ago. I can't ever see myself getting a tablet, they just seem like a total waste. I would really like an android phone, but at the same time I'm wary about spending a few hundred bucks on one, like I said, my phones never survive for too long, and if they do they end up disappearing anyway. The only reason I would consider getting one is because it would allow me to do more with something I already carry around anyway.

You just have to shop around. The wife got a Droid X for $20 dollars (she was on track phone before that). Just had to sign a 2 yr contract is all, which 2 yrs is about the length of time I sign for one anyway.

 

[Mike F]

You just have to shop around. The wife got a Droid X for $20 dollars (she was on track phone before that). Just had to sign a 2 yr contract is all, which 2 yrs is about the length of time I sign for one anyway.

when you're signing that 2 year contract, you're basicallly paying for the phone but over the next 2 years. and if you cancel the contract, you're paying for it even sooner.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

when you're signing that 2 year contract, you're basicallly paying for the phone but over the next 2 years. and if you cancel the contract, you're paying for it even sooner.

You have to get a contract no matter what and I have yet to see a fluctation in prices from when she got the phone for $20 or when my mom had gotten the previous model for a few hundred. They both signed for basically the same contract too. Unlimited this that and the other (which is nonexistent now for verizon). Same price on the contract, same two years, different cost of the phone.

If you were paying the difference from the original price of the phone from the $20 already payed, the contract should be higher not the same. Trust me, my wife compares all that crap. If they had it hidden for them to get difference out of you somehow, it was really well hidden and it wasn't that obvious as you are thinking it is.

When I go in to get a new phone or have a number switched to a new phone, I have to sign a 2 year renewal, so that 2 yr contract seems to be a consistent thing. Either that or I'm suckered into the consistent 2 yr renewal. I think 2 yrs is the standard minimum, but like I said, they could have suckered me into thinking that.

I'm not saying that I don't think they get you on the contracts, I think they have some pretty out there prices (especially now for the new data plans), but everything is standard. There was not any difference between a 2 year contract it's fees, it's penalties etc from when my mom got it with her $200 (I'm just putting a number here) and the wifes $20 phone. Like I also said, 2 yr contract is the standard that we have always done, so signing a 2 yr contract wasn't a leap for us. They all had the same prices and percentages etc in the contract. Only difference was the cost of the phone.

 

[CES020]

All of them will sell you the phone outright and you sign no contract. You just have to pay for the phone up front.

 

[Locals Find!]

Go with Metropcs if they are in your market or the sister company Cricket wireless for a Droid phone. I got two identical droid phones for $200 and no contract. Bill is $50 a month on each phone unlimited. Linked it up with my google voice and I can turn the service on and off without worrying about losing calls. Works over most of the major metropolitan areas and with my built in wifi I don't even need their service If I don't want. I just link in with wifi just about everywhere and use google voice to dial out.

 

[ucmj22]

And I am a fan of avoiding cloud networks.

+1

I'm old school I guess. I don't really see a need for cloud service.
I find it funny how the term "cloud" has been coined and now these old services have a new trendy sheen to them.

Not a fan.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Knight1979
+1

I'm old school I guess. I don't really see a need for cloud service.
I find it funny how the term "cloud" has been coined and now these old services have a new trendy sheen to them.

Not a fan.
+1 also. I don't like my files just floating around out there.

+3

Not a fan of the cloud at all. I operate my business and function perfectly well on a daily basis without it.

I hope none of you ever have a disaster at your locations; Flood, earthquake, tornado, fire, or electrical surge that renders all of your local redundancy useless. Much safer to have everything backed up both locally and remotely.

 

[signswi]

Evernote
Dropbox
Google (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Tasks, a million others)
Freshbooks, Outright, Shoeboxed, Expensify (freelancing/consulting)
getsatisfaction
Flickr
ActionMethod
MailChimp
Seesmic Web+Mobile+Desktop
Backblaze

Dozens more on the fringe of being considered cloud (though more just services than SaaS). Heavy WordPress user (and consultant) but .org, not .com. Probably a bunch I'm not recalling off the top of my head, I'm an early adopter and tech junkie. I probably try a half dozen or more new services a week, many cloud based. I'm a big proponent of decentralized hosting/SaaS as it takes much of the IT headache out of your hands, especially for small businesses. It's hilarious how much time small businesses waste doing things like troubleshooting exchange servers when you can just get hosted exchange or switch to gmail for business or whatever. It's about efficiency and specialization (more time for you to do what you do well).

MyMeasures looks good, thanks for that one. Can't list what's on my Droid X, forgot it at home in the bustle this morning (classic).

I hope none of you ever have a disaster at your locations; Flood, earthquake, tornado, fire, or electrical surge that renders all of your local redundancy useless. Much safer to have everything backed up both locally and remotely.

If you don't have offsite (remote) you aren't backed up.

 

[wildside]

I hope none of you ever have a disaster at your locations; Flood, earthquake, tornado, fire, or electrical surge that renders all of your local redundancy useless. Much safer to have everything backed up both locally and remotely.

but at the same time, no one can steal my information, unless they walk in here and break into the safe.... a bank vault... yes a 2 hour burn bank vault in a building that is designated a bomb and storm shelter....lol

if a massive anything happens here and wipes out everything, my insurance is going to pay me to head south and go after different endeavors

no matter what anyone says about how secure this, how secure that, more encryption than a rhino sitting on a popcorn stand.... it is still highly possible for the technology to be broken into and information taken, there are people out there that do this for a living and are very good at it, usually you don't even know it has happened......

 

[signswi]

What's in your bank vault, all your computers? That's a bit odd, how do you work? What "information" exactly? Your tax records? Employee social security numbers? That's all on file electronically anyway (in government clouds and various other places). It's kind of irrelevant as you're already trusting these methodologies in many parts of your life (tax submission, banking, facebook, merchant credit card terminals, atms, stock trading, blah blah). The easiest way to breach any security is physically (atm backpack card scanners, rfid/bluetooth pocket scanners, social engineering/phishing, etc.). What are you putting in the vault? You're already trusting all this technology it's just whether or not you're aware of it and embrace the advantages where possible. Not using any cloud services reminds me of the days when people were afraid of having email or using amazon.com. Like anything in life, common sense will pay dividends (don't use simple passwords, don't use the same password everywhere, don't write your passwords on post-it notes taped to your monitor, don't do sensitive transactions on public networks...). The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages in most situations and it's important to remember that it's in the company's best interest to keep your (electronic) data secure, and they're far more equipped to do so than you are in most cases.

 

[wildside]

as a matter of fact, all the servers, data storage and the like are in the vault, someone can come steal the computers out of the various offices, they will get no actual data as it is not stored locally on the machine itself

backups are made and taken home to a different safe

i don't file taxes, my accountant does

we could argue this forever, i will never have my client files, quickbook files, cyrious files, etc uploaded to a website, it is not practical for this company

i understand how the world is gone all technology bound and ease of this and that, but there is still a sense of security about knowing "who" has access to your business information