It’s contract renewal season for me, and I’m kind of “heads down” working on what comes next. So I’ve been kinda distracted from sharing ideas and discussions with everyone.
I’m continuing my evolution into cloud computing, shedding local software as I figure out my approach. I’m lucky enough to have access to excellent coverage by T-Mobile, albeit EDGE only, plentiful free WiFi and T-Mobile HotSpots available to me as I go through each day. So I’m always able to be connected, most all the time.
The first step has been dropping Microsoft Outlook. This was a the biggest step of all, as it’s been my email client for over a decade, and a damn good one at that. Just a quick note on usability – much nicer to not have to wait for all the IMAP folders to sync! GMail is… well GMail, and has it’s own peculiarities to adapt to.
Now that I’ve got that one figured out, and completed, it’s on to the next steps. I’ve got hundreds of Microsoft Office documents that I need to review and move into the cloud. Reviewing them will not be the problem, and getting them into whatever service won’t either.
But… which service to move these to? Google Docs & Spreadsheets because it’s tied to all my Google account stuff? Or should I go for Zoho Office? I’ve used both for almost the same amount of time (~2 years) and find pros/cons to both. There’s also ThinkFree, which may be most like the native Microsoft Office environment.
That’s going to take some thinking… in the meantime I’m going to sort through several hundred megabytes of documents, some quite dated to be quite honest. It’ll be nice to trim down to what’s actually valuable and relevant.
Probably the biggest Microsoft Office app besides Outlook that’ll be hard for me to replace is OneNote. Since the release of Office 2003, this application has been a staple of my note taking. For all sorts of things, like projects, seminars, meetings, online research, etc… It’s become indispensable and its really hard to find a replacement, but I think I may have it. Zoho Notebook is the closest I’ve seen of anything, so I’ll be working with that for the next few weeks to see how viable it is as a replacement.
So there you have it, an update on where I’m at. I still have more questions than answers, but I’m finding many more online solutions than a year or so ago when I last really considered doing this. It’s now actually feasible to migrate online. With the critical components of connectivity and software services, I’m well on my way to reducing my dependence on legacy software.
Have you bit the bullet? What’s worked for you? Heck, what headaches have you had that may have pointed you back to locally installed software?
6 Comments
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Rick Mahn is the Founder of SMBMSP, Principal of Rick Mahn & Associates, and a Sr. Information Technologies Architect with Experis. With over two decades in Information Technologies Architecture and Social Media, Rick connects people & organizations by embracing new technologies and open standards.Learn more about Rick.
The biggest problem for me is that browsers still aren’t rock-solid. I’ve tried Google Spreadsheets and it was great for collaboration, but it lacks the reliability that I get from Excel. ThinkFree is a good option for docs because it runs in a java app, but I’m still so much more at home with Word, and ThinkFree doesn’t do change tracking, which is critical for contracts.
It would be great to work in the cloud, but I can’t get comfortable yet with applications that just aren’t quite as reliable as desktop apps. Good luck with your quest, though.
The biggest problem for me is that browsers still aren’t rock-solid. I’ve tried Google Spreadsheets and it was great for collaboration, but it lacks the reliability that I get from Excel. ThinkFree is a good option for docs because it runs in a java app, but I’m still so much more at home with Word, and ThinkFree doesn’t do change tracking, which is critical for contracts.
It would be great to work in the cloud, but I can’t get comfortable yet with applications that just aren’t quite as reliable as desktop apps. Good luck with your quest, though.
Shannon, you make some very good points. I’ll admit that I’m keeping office installed for just that type of work. Most of the documents I work on for my clients need to be in specific formats, and or support things like Microsoft’s DRM/IRM along with change tracking and management.
So, I’m going to the cloud for all my personal data, but must retain complete compatibility and supportability for my clients. I just spend less time in MS Office is the result so far.
Another interesting thing is that sharing data/docs with my family has become easier. Not that we swap spreadsheets and such, but mostly word docs. Is an interesting twist.
Shannon, you make some very good points. I’ll admit that I’m keeping office installed for just that type of work. Most of the documents I work on for my clients need to be in specific formats, and or support things like Microsoft’s DRM/IRM along with change tracking and management.
So, I’m going to the cloud for all my personal data, but must retain complete compatibility and supportability for my clients. I just spend less time in MS Office is the result so far.
Another interesting thing is that sharing data/docs with my family has become easier. Not that we swap spreadsheets and such, but mostly word docs. Is an interesting twist.
I know how hard this all can be. I’ve made the same trip from MS software to web-based tools. Believe me, it’s totally worth it! I switched from OneNote to Wrike, and from Outlook to Gmail. Wrike and Gmail perfectly integrate, so it’s really easy for me to stay organized and to follow up on each email accurately.
I know how hard this all can be. I’ve made the same trip from MS software to web-based tools. Believe me, it’s totally worth it! I switched from OneNote to Wrike, and from Outlook to Gmail. Wrike and Gmail perfectly integrate, so it’s really easy for me to stay organized and to follow up on each email accurately.