Categories: Articles

Moving Closer To The Cloud

Why do we have to deal with computer crashes anymore? Why do we still have to deal with data being lost or corrupted?

In getting uncomfortable, I’m beginning to realize that as great as technology is, we not only need and want it to do more, but we expect it. It’s both sad that we’re like this and a tremendous opportunity for the next generation of entrepreneurs and marketers. This week, I switched over to a MacBook Pro (but, I do still love my Microsoft apps, so I am running vmware fusion) and watched one of our senior IT people grapple with the conversion of my documents and settings over to the new platform.

It’s never as simple and easy as people say and think it is.

In trying to figure out the best way to transfer all of the data and create a seamless transition where no emails, addresses, meetings, notes, personal photos got lost (yes, we’re moving to an Exchange type of server system soon, but we’re not there yet), we got to the point where I said, “can’t we just put everything online and have me work from the cloud?” You’re probably reading this and thinking, “yes, you can!” but the real answer is, “you sort of can, but it’s not the same and it’s not as easy as you may think.” One of the major reasons to make this type of transfer is so that we never have to deal with it again when I get a new computer, but the one major reason that is holding us back is my travel schedule. So, if I can’t access my email, calendar, notes, etc… while flying at 35,000 feet, it’s not all that useful to have my stuff in the cloud. At the same time, platforms like Google do have their Google Gears applications that enable you to work offline, but I’ve been getting mixed messages about the stability and real functionality of the tool.

I’d pay to get a real solution.

This is the gold for Marketers: I’m not looking to use Gmail because it’s free. I’m looking for a simple, solid and easy solution. The companies that provide this are the ones who have the big wins. They’re the ones who make the money, and they’re the ones who never complain about having to give up so much of their products and services for free. The person who can take everything we’re doing in platforms like Outlook and make it simple to export and transfer to a cloud-based service that also has similar/better tools will win (which is why so many companies like the Microsoft Exchange platform). Keep in mind, the Digital Nomad continues to rise and many of the newer companies simply don’t have the financial resources to go the Exchange route, so there must be a very large market of small to medium-sized business owners that would love to have the ability to really move towards the cloud.

Or am I missing something?

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.