Hi there.  The name’s Robroy.  You don’t know me, but – can I ask a personal question?  It’s about your medical history.

Have you ever had amnesia?

No?  Me neither.  In fact, I have never even met someone who had it.  And yet, rare as it is in real life, amnesia must be one of the most commonly dramatized illnesses in all of Hollywood.

Goldie Hawn lost her memory in Overboard.  Mickey Rourke lost his memory in Angel Heart.  So did Keanu Reeves in Johnny Mnemonic.  And Jim Carrey in … what was that one called … Spotless in Seattle?

Wouldn’t it be great if we had amnesia?  If more companies caught a little case of it?  Think of the benefits.  We could wipe out all of our old excuses.  Starting with the software and technology that runs and grows our business.  You’d take one look at our server racks and say, “Why are we hosting our stuff on company hardware, instead of in the cloud?”

You’d be absolutely right.  With cloud computing, we could get more computer power, instantly, on demand, at a fraction of the cost.

And nobody could say, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it!”  Because we wouldn’t know that.  We’d have amnesia.

Right?  That Hitchcock classic, Spellbound.  Gregory Peck.  Let’s list some more in the comments below.  Who else had amnesia?

Rob Macdonald, Partner & Senior Consultant, EntreQuest.

Read more Robroy at www.robroysblog.com

I found a tool called Corelytics created by CoreConnex. Corelytics is an application that will enable me to determine what my goals are for the year by using company data from QuickBooks. Hooray! It also compares my financial data against thousands of other service providers just like me.

Corelytics was up and running in about 30 minutes, and I was able to import my QuickBooks data with a few simple steps. There was a need to interact with a Corelytics representative; however, the process was virtually painless. Amazingly, in rapid fashion, I’m now able to evaluate and dissect my QuickBooks data from a much different perspective. This application has already helped me make some key decisions, and it has only been running for 1 day! I am happy to report that the cost was $349.00 for setup, and $49.00 per month.

The second application is Get Satisfaction. This application enables customers to rate your service. It also provides clients with a support portal that has a lot of user interactions. I am excited about Get Satisfaction because I truly think this will help us to connect with our clients. Community based support and client ratings are rapidly becoming the only way people buy a product or service. We will be trying Get Satisfaction, along with other functions of our business, to increase client satisfaction and loyalty.

I am amazed at how fast one can find and implement ideas using applications delivered from the Cloud. The two applications listed above would have taken thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and a lot of trial and error to execute in years past. Instead, in the time it takes me to finish a good meal, I have two applications that I couldn’t be happier with. I think you’ll agree.

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Now, I wonder how long it will be before cars are connected to the Cloud? In essence, I am already connected to the Cloud (or am I?) with BMW Assist, which could have rebooted my car remotely. But, how long will it be before cars are just another computer on your network? I know it’s a stretch, but in the future when I enter a destination, could my email calendar automatically sync with my car’s navigation system with directions already in play? If I am headed to a meeting and hit unexpected traffic, could my car send an email letting them know I am running late?

Imagine if cars could correlate information from the Cloud to your trip. For example, what if you’re someone that needs to drive long distances for work, but you have a health condition. Imagine if the Cloud could calculate your drive time and provide you with alerts as to when and where to pull over and take a break.

Imagine if gas stations could publish their prices on the Internet (some already do), and while you’re traveling and your car gets low on gas, not only does it find the lowest price, but your navigation gets updated with directions. There is already an application for the iPhone that helps you find nearest gas stations and their prices, why couldn’t your car do the work too?

What are the limits for cars and the Cloud? If my car isn’t truly connected to the Cloud, then I can’t wait until my lease is up!

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Recently, we were in need of a solution that would enable clients to sign contracts and documents in a more timely fashion. I Googled “contract signing” and low and behold a number of digital signature companies popped up. I decided to take a look around. I tried both www.docusign.com and www.echosign.com. Both worked very well, but the use and interface of Echosign seemed to fit our needs best. Again, being a cloud-based solution I was able to test the solution for 30 days and then select a package that was extremely economical. Now, I am not here to push digital signature companies, but by researching a new way and trusting the cloud, we cut our contract signing time from 2 weeks to less than 4 hours. Furthermore, we have had clients thank us for the ease of use in adding services, etc. We are now expanding our use of Echosign to include online forms and process improvement.

My next project is to find a way to connect our mobile workers via tablets, laptops, and iPhones using forms that will enable us to input sales, technical, and client data in real-time. Cloud-based www.formspring.com is in the lead because of its iPhone integration. However, Wufoo, Formatta, and a few others are still close behind. These cloud-based companies could literally cut our processing time by over 5 days per project, increase results, and accuracy.

So why does the cloud matter? I will be posting a host of new cloud-based solutions often that could be of help to your business. Who knows, maybe one of my “explorations” will save you time or make you money.

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT