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The mobile office gets real in the cloud

The only thing between you and the cloud is your internet connection. And with the huge number of connectable netbooks, smartphones, tablets and other devices on the market, you really are able to take the cloud with you anywhere.

 

Imagine being in a meeting with a prospective client and being able to answer virtually any query on the spot by connecting to the cloud via your web-enabled phone or tablet and pulling down the latest sales, inventory, prices and other business data, as well as contract documents and other forms.

Think of the impression you’ll make with customers and business partners by showing that you really do have the information at your fingertips.

No more taking down copious notes to help you remember what to follow up when you’re back in the office. The office is there with you anywhere you have an internet connection, whether you’re on a train, in a park, or stuck in an airport.

 

 




 
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And let’s face it, with the rapidly increasing speed, capacity, reach and reliability of wireless networks for mobile phones, as well as the mushrooming number of WiFi hotspots, getting online has never been easier. So you can rest assured that people will soon cease to wonder whether they are able to get connected, instead simply asking how.

 

Portable sales machines

Of course the explosion in mobile devices over the last few years means that you are able to access, process and present information from cloud services like salesforce.com in a whole range of new and exciting ways while on the road.

For example, the benefits have certainly been embraced by, AD Instruments, Sydney-based makers of specialised medical equipment for the world market. “Staff can go to a customer – anywhere on earth – access their client from their phone, and provide a quotation before they leave the customer,” says CEO Graham Miliken.

This gives truth to the idea that we’re now living in the ‘post-PC era’, where notebooks and desktops are being replaced by smartphones and tablets for everyday computing – in tandem with the cloud.

Apple’s iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, for instance, represent a completely new way of receiving and processing information. Compact and light, their touchscreens allow information to be manipulated in far more dynamic ways than traditional notebooks, allowing you to drag and enlarge graphs and other business data to deliver clearer messages with more impact.

 

Work your way around the world

Bruce Loxton from Balina-based Kimberley Kampers, for instance, uses an iPad to manage his business through salesforce.com, whether he’s at the centre of his custom-built camper operations in northern New South Wales or 1450 kilometres away in his wife’s clothing boutique in Sydney. He can view real-time updates on how his business is tracking, see where his pipeline is in terms of value and location, and with the ability to drill into each account and view the latest activity, he’s always up to date when he speaks to customers.

At the Sydney CBD-based Information Planet, Mauricio Pucci sees the iPad as a way to show parents of the international students he caters for, all the information they need to help their kids study, live, travel and work in Australia. And with all this collateral held in the cloud at salesforce.com, parents don’t even have to come to an office – Information Planet reps take the demonstration right to them, in their own homes.

In short, the cloud, combined with the impressive advances in mobile technology, has essentially removed the traditional geographic barriers to business – and fulfilled, at last, the promise of the mobile office.