Professional Report - 1st Quarter 2012

“I use Salesforce for CRM and Dropbox to manage my files,”
says McGowan. “My business accounting is done via Quickbooks.
com, which is integrated with my online banking.” He adds: “I
have a very powerful suite of data and applications that allows me
to have a greater understanding of my market than my competi-
tors.” “For starters, you can back up all your data in the cloud,
and therefore eliminate the need for servers. It’s cost effective
and relatively safe,” says Schacker. “Using products like Dropbox
allows placement of large amounts of data, which can then be
shared on an individual basis. It’s like FTP access for dummies.”
Schacker says he downloads flyers and informational data,
which he can then display at a meeting or showing. “Then it’s
easily forwarded or shared with the prospect or client—see, no
paper,” he adds. “It’s good to download a large document you
can’t read at your office for further reading at home on your iPad,
or for further reading from your iPhone at your daughter’s soft-
ball game.”
“Some of it is marketing, functionality, virtualization,” says
Kasselman. “For marketing, for example, we have a virtual net-
work on which all our files reside; it gives us remote access from
anywhere in real time. Changes are instantaneously synchronized
across all our personnel’s devices of choice—whether iPad, lap-
top, or desktop. They just have to log in and authenticate them-
selves.” In terms of software such as Costar, he adds, he uses the
programs via SaaS. “The only thing we keep on our hard drive
now and backed up is QuickBooks, but that could or should be
done in the cloud,” he declares.

The only reason he hasn’t made that move yet, he says, is secu-
rity–the one potential downside of the cloud. “That’s the risk–can
somebody hack into my cloud?” he poses. “But in my case, do I
really care if somebody sees my Costar reports? I do care if they
see my QuickBooks, which is why it’s not out there–but I think
the move is inevitable.”

How to Get on Board

Zelonker says it’s very easy to get up to speed with the cloud. “I use two iCloud programs from Apple, and if you go to an Apple store they will set you up; it is automatic and backs you up daily, for free,” he says.

“Software is becoming easier and easier to use thanks to men like Steve Jobs, who set the standard for allowing non-technical users to use computers,” says McGowan.

“Like anything relating to technology of this nature, it’s not
hard if you put in the effort to learn,” adds Schacker. “However,
because it can be automatic, a tech can do the initial set up, and the
rest just happens (most of the time). It always pays to know and
understand the technology though, and much of it is intuitive.”
He recommends first seeking input from trusted peers and cli-
ents about who they use for cloud services and what experiences
they’ve had along the way. Additionally, he recommends the
following web-based cloud comparison sites which are geared
towards small and medium-sized businesses: FindTheBest;
Servdex; and Cloudsurfing. “If you run a small, medium or even
large business, you should be able to break down what you’re
looking for with these three price engines,”
he asserts.

The benefits, say SIORs, far outweigh
the risks. “My benefits are the availability
to include others in any deal I am working
on, automatic backup every day, and hav-
ing all my technology at my fingertips from
any computer,” says Zelonker. “It makes
me more organized and saves me hours of
work during the days.”
“I would say that the amount of paper
that surrounds me is minimal and my time
in the office and in front of clients has been
able to increase,” adds McGowan.

“It’s another tool in the shed, akin
to switching from your 20 oz. hammer
to a pneumatic nail gun,” says Schacker.
“It’s faster, easier and more expedient, and
never to be ignored, though it comes with
additional complexities. However, you still
always need your ‘screwdriver.’”
“There are too many pros and too few
cons not to use it in some way–even if you
don’t throw everything into the cloud,”
Kasselman concludes.