Cloud Computing for Hoteliers: Six Services I Couldn’t Live Without
11 Comments
A few days ago, my laptop died. Since I usually work from 5 different computers, that usually wouldn’t be a huge deal. Except I’m on the road, and the other 4 are sitting uselessly at home.
Fortunately, I’ve shifted nearly everything to the “cloud.” While an iPhone will never replace the functionality of a desktop, I can still hobble by. It’s not catastrophic. At least not completely.
For that reason – and others – I recommend you makes as much use of cloud computing as possible. Here are my most valuable tools:
Web-based Email
Of course, it’s Gmail. There’s no contest – this is the hands-down best email service anywhere. Some of you may say “of course!” while others maybe have never even tried the service. Do yourself a favor and switch. Once you do, you’ll never go back.
With Google Apps for business, you can still have your branded email (you@example.com) while using the Gmail interface.
Web-based Documents
Since I use Gmail exclusively, it’s only natural I use Google Docs. I stopped using Microsoft products about 2 years ago, and switched to Google Docs for everything. It’s far easier for sharing files with others, collaborating on documents, and tracking changes.
If someone sends me a file, I”ll upload it to Google Docs. So it also acts like a file storage system.
Web-based Scheduling
And to round out my suite of Google Apps, I use Google Calendar for all scheduling. You can export, sync, and access this on many devices, so it’s very convenient for me.
Scheduling meetings is often very time consuming – so many back-and-forth emails – so you may look into a tool such as Tungle to make the process easier.
Web-based Project Management
For a very long time, Basecamp has kept my life a little more sane. From one dashboard, I can track milestones, updates, deadlines, and files. It’s great if you work with a team of people – especially if they are not all in one location.
Web-based Journaling
I’m trying to use Twitter more and more for keeping track of thoughts, story ideas, and questions. The stream-of-consciousness format is helpful: I can go back and review what’s happened the past week…
Web-based Bookmarking
I come across so many great sites and pages each day, it would be a nightmare to record them all in an organized fashion. Fortunately, Delicious makes this all very easy.
It’s still valuable to use browser-based bookmarks, and I use Xmarks to sync my bookmarks across all my computers.
The Bottom Line: Switch to Google Apps
My life would be so much harder if it were not for Google Apps. All email, documents, and scheduling takes place there for me.
Have you switched to cloud computing yet?
You should enter your email below to receive new tips like this each Monday morning:
+1 347 422 6784
Josiah
Fellow Google Apps devotee here…. can’t live without it.
A few more thoughts :
- Living in a land without 3G and in the world where emails need keyboards.. forget iPhone, BB is the thing.. and the Enhanced Gmail Plug In is a must too… yes, the BB Gmail interface is fine, but the Enhance Piugin a) gets new messages quicker, and b) now reconciles with gmail (this is new, just the last week.. quietly)
- Google Docs… yes, but… I have to send Word / Excel docs to people all the time, and they must be compatible (having images in your lettehead template, for example), and neither Google Docs nor Apple iWork do that for me.. so have to have Office for Mac (ugh). Of course, maybe Google Docs is less basic now… tell me what the latest is !
- Dropbox… have to, have to have this… just essential, especially when collaborating with people virtually with media assets etc… just so easy to use to backup, share, sync….
- Evernote… again, a must have.. but with one major glitch… no native Blackberry App, so you can’t access your notes offline, only through the Blackberry browser.
Sticking to clouds and not just any cool online tools, I’ll stop there, but check out http://www.cheapskatefreelancer.com/ for more from my friend @AvenueZ
Haha – I know there’s strong arguments for BB, but I love my iPhone. =)
Evernote looks cool, but I never really adopted it for my own use. I’d like to test it further.
Thanks for the resources!
Voracious reader that I am, I can’t do without Amazon’s amazing (no pun intended) Reading List on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/osview/canvas?_ch_page_id=1&_ch_panel_id=1&_ch_app_id=20&_applicationId=1700&_ownerId=40092238&osUrlHash=U6ae&appParams={%22view%22:%22readingList%22,%22offset%22:%220%22}
It works great to archive and categorize all names of the great marketing books I have read so that I can refer to them anytime in the future.
Check it out…
Cheers
Mihir
Good stuff there, Mihir – thanks for sharing.
I plan to read a LOT more books this summer: just ordered a big list, and plan on at least one each week. Then I’d like to create a video summary sharing the highlights on what I learned….
Thx for the Amazon Book List Mihir.. added a few to mine on LinkedIn.. but a bit baffled that I can’t see an easy way of sharing it and seeing what others have recommended… not intuitively social
Hmmm Tom, am I linked up to you on LinkedIn already ?
I know. The Amazon book list is a perfect widget to add to a blog or website.
Books (and the Amazon book list) are a perfect tool for personal branding – they tell people that you’re smart (because you read books) and tell people what kind of person you are (by the kind of books you read).
Cheers
Mihir
Seems we’re big fans of Google Apps. Like Tom, however, distributing word docs and excels is more practical with MS unfortunately. And I agree with him regarding Dropbox – I have it installed pretty well anywhere I have a work station including my iPOD Touch.
Question: You say you use Twitter for journaling. I’m having difficulty seeing how one would do that. Perhaps I’m just thinking too literally.
Very helpful post as always,
Thanks
Different people have different policies to LinkedIn… I generally only link to people I have met in person and/or had extensive dealings with on business matters… but I see some folk with 5000 connections…hmmm… an entirely different conversation !
Great points here – as a meeting and event planner, I use Google Docs, Google Calendar and Gmail on a regular basis to collaborate with my staff, vendors and clients. I can barely remember what life was like without these wonderful tools!
Nice article! If you’d like to explore the emerging portfolio of other cloud hosting services managed in compliance with the PCI data security standards you may want to check the website of My Hotel IT who are specifically focused on providing infrastructure services to hotels.
Thanks for the tip, Jan!