Why The Cloud Matters

Most folks think of the cloud as Social Media, Google, Freeware, or just an acronym for the Internet. I think of the cloud as an endless possibility to make ideas come to life. As a business owner I am constantly pushing the envelope trying to improve processes, generate key performance data, and fuel the creative entrepreneurial spirit to grow. At least once per week, a question and/or problem arises that I “Google” to find a solution.

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