Sick and tired of hearing me bleat on about my favourite apps and services? Sit back and read this guest post originally published back in 2010 by James Adams who outlines his personal choices.

Cloud computing is the latest in the trend to minimize IT costs and increase productivity. Software from the cloud takes the burden of administration off of the local organization, relieving much of the demand for in-house expertise. Cloud based represents higher productivity for in-house and mobile workforces in the form of accessible and secure computing with more up time. Here are 12 cloud apps that will make your business more productive.

Basecamp

An online project management tool that runs through the cloud and provides team collaboration features. Everything you need to manage your projects is found in Basecamp, including file sharing, scheduling, task management and assignment, and feedback. Basecamp interacts with several iPhone apps, and third party computer-based tools to give you maximum accessibility and flexibility wherever you are. Packages available range from 15 projects to unlimited. A 30 day trial lets you see if Basecamp will fit the needs of your business before you buy.

Dropbox

A web-based file sharing service that also provides secure file storage, synchronization, and backup. Files can be accessed from anywhere and changes made to files by the team are automatically synced to user’s local computers. Supports Linux, Mac, and Windows. Dropbox offers 2 GB of storage free so you can see how it works prior to purchasing.

Zoho

A cloud based office software suite, offering powerful document creation management tools for spreadsheets, word processing, invoicing, CRM, and more. You pay for only the apps you use.

Dimdim

Web conferencing software that resides in the cloud and offers a great medium in which you can interface with your mobile workers, customers, and vendors. Rather than having people travel to meetings, why not let everyone stay home, save the earth and attend the meeting online?

Pixlr

Cloud-based image editing services. Three applications, Editor, Express, and Grabber combine to give users amazing power to create and edit images.

Github

Social coding application that runs through the cloud to provide version control and collaborative software development. Several packages are available from the free open source plan to the Giga plan that includes 300 private repositories, private collaborators, and 60 GB of storage. There is also an enterprise version of Github that companies can deploy on their own cloud platform.

FreshBooks

A financial management application that’s hosted in the cloud. This program offers “painless billing” that makes it easy to bill clients, track payments, and perform other bookkeeping. This app is specially designed for teams, freelance workers, and service providers.

Google Docs

A personal repository of documents that can be shared and updated as needed. Google Docs features revision tracking and allows users to save documents locally if necessary. This application is free.

Mojo Helpdesk

Provides online customer relationship management (CRM), including request tracking, ticket assignment, email integration, and on demand help. Eleven users are supported for the $24 monthly fee, with an unlimited option available for $49.

Cloudmark Desktop

Business with real time protection from email spam, phishing, and viruses without loading down the computers on your network.

Appointy

An online scheduling software that provides businesses with appointment and schedule management. The software can be configured to allow customers to make their own appointments and send out text and voice alerts for appointments. Appointy even has tools available to promote your business. Practically any business that schedules appointments over the telephone will appreciate the power Appointy offers to make businesses more efficient and productive.

Gliffy

Provides cloud-based charting and diagramming. This powerful app gives business access to the tools needed to create professional flow charts, floor plans, and technical drawings.

Cloud based applications are perfect for managing business functions from any web browser so employees and managers can be productive wherever they are. With software management and administration performed by the host, businesses can focus on their mission rather than on IT related tasks. Try these applications out and see how powerful web-based applications can transform your business.

This guest post was written by James Adams who is a blogger working for an online storeoffering toner next day for the UK. He is a contributor to their design blog where he posts about technology and design.

Tags: Basecamp, Cloud computing, Project management, Linux, Web conferencing, Office suite, iPhone, Windows

Quality and Quantity: Strive to publish great content as regularly as possible. Some of your articles won’t always hit the mark but when they do, they have the potential to go viral and your thought leadership will be shared widely across the social web.

Size Doesn’t Matter: There is no standard issue for the length of an article, duration of a video or number of pages in a white paper. Great content can run to many thousands of words or just a couple of sentences. Just make sure it’s relevant, interesting and timely – and you won’t go far wrong.

Words and Pictures: It might be a cliché – but it still rings true. A picture is worth 1,000 words and when available you should always use them. If that picture moves (i.e. video) – even better.
Get to the point: There is no need to dazzle your audience with endless streams of eloquent prose introducing your latest concept or best practice. Get to the point (starting with a solid headline) or you’ll risk losing your audience at the first hurdle.

Solve Problems: The best content helps to solve your customers’ problems and therefore validates your position as an expert. Don’t try and second guess your customers problems, ask them what makes their lives difficult and they will probably give you a list to work from.

Always Include a Call to Action: Remind your audience to do something after or during consuming your content. “Buy Now”, “Learn More” and “Register Here” are all good starting points. Remember this is marketing and it should lead to an action that can be tracked and reported against.

Make it Easy to Share: Make your content easy to share by including social media “share” buttons on every piece of content.

Re-Use, Re-Appropriate and Re-Cycle: Could a blog post be turned into a more detailed white paper? Could a webinar turn into a physical event or YouTube video? Great content has legs and screams to be used across a variety of media.

Don’t Forget Email: If your content has value (and it should do) then let your customers’ and prospects’ email addresses be the currency used to pay for it. Use email gateway pages to grant access to detailed content or include email registration forms or pop-ups on blog posts to drive subscriptions. Email Marketing services like iContact will provide you with all the tools you need to set this up.

Get Social and Distribute Widely: Great content is the foundation of any social media strategy. Distribute it, discuss it and review it via social media. Social engagement will lead to more ideas, new opportunities and wider recognition of you, your brand and your position as an expert in your own particular niche.

Online PR: Great thought leadership is highly newsworthy. Use an online news release tool like PRWeb to distribute your content to journalists, influential bloggers and across all the major search engines (this will also aid your SEO efforts significantly).

Just Do It: Your content needs to be well thought out and planned – but don’t let over planning delay your output. The best content marketers are agile and can turn ideas around quickly to take advantage of opportunities as and when they arise.

Quality and Quantity: Strive to publish great content as regularly as possible. Some of your articles won’t always hit the mark but when they do, they have the potential to go viral and your thought leadership will be shared widely across the social web.


Size Doesn’t Matter: There is no standard issue for the length of an article, duration of a video or number of pages in a white paper. Great content can run to many thousands of words or just a couple of sentences. Just make sure it’s relevant, interesting and timely – and you won’t go far wrong.

Words and Pictures: It might be a cliché – but it still rings true. A picture is worth 1,000 words and when available you should always use them. If that picture moves (i.e. video) – even better.

Get to the point: There is no need to dazzle your audience with endless streams of eloquent prose introducing your latest concept or best practice. Get to the point (starting with a solid headline) or you’ll risk losing your audience at the first hurdle.

Solve Problems: The best content helps to solve your customers’ problems and therefore validates your position as an expert. Don’t try and second guess your customers problems, ask them what makes their lives difficult and they will probably give you a list to work from.

Always Include a Call to Action: Remind your audience to do something after or during consuming your content. “Buy Now”, “Learn More” and “Register Here” are all good starting points. Remember this is marketing and it should lead to an action that can be tracked and reported against.

Make it Easy to Share: Make your content easy to share by including social media “share” buttons on every piece of content.

Re-Use, Re-Appropriate and Re-Cycle: Could a blog post be turned into a more detailed white paper? Could a webinar turn into a physical event or YouTube video? Great content has legs and screams to be used across a variety of media.

Don’t Forget Email: If your content has value (and it should do) then let your customers’ and prospects’ email addresses be the currency used to pay for it. Use email gateway pages to grant access to detailed content or include email registration forms or pop-ups on blog posts to drive subscriptions.Email Marketing services like iContact will provide you with all the tools you need to set this up.

Get Social and Distribute Widely: Great content is the foundation of any social media strategy. Distribute it, discuss it and review it via social media. Social engagement will lead to more ideas, new opportunities and wider recognition of you, your brand and your position as an expert in your own particular niche.

Online PR: Great thought leadership is highly newsworthy. Use an online news release tool like PRWeb to distribute your content to journalists, influential bloggers and across all the major search engines (this will also aid your SEO efforts significantly).

Just Do It: Your content needs to be well thought out and planned – but don’t let over planning delay your output. The best content marketers are agile and can turn ideas around quickly to take advantage of opportunities as and when they arise.

Tags: Social media, YouTube, Marketing, iContact, Search engine optimization, Internet marketing, Business, Marketing and Advertising

Regardless of the industry, entrepreneurs vary when it comes to leadership styles. Some employers prefer the traditional top-down approach, while others treat their employees like equals who can IM them throughout the day and grab drinks with them once that day is over. But altogether, teams are formulated at startups to create things, to get things done — without micromanaging.

The approach of “MBWA” or “management by walking around” might sound like an outdated technique, but for some business owners, it still works—if not in a new way. To do so without micromanaging your employees—or even being in the same office space—impacts both a startup’s deadlines and the company culture as well.

We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only nonprofit organization comprised of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs, the following question to find out their advice for staying on top of their startup’s projects:

“”MBWA” or management by walking around: do you use it and if so, what’s your best tip to know what’s going on without micromanaging?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. They’re the Boss Now

“If you’ve hired well, every key employee is more talented than you in their domain. So your value in an MBWA session is to listen, and help untangle challenges. At LabDoor, I’ll usually pull up a chair and sit quietly until I’m up to speed, offer a few pieces of helpful advice, and then let my teammate get back to work.”
~ Neil Thanedar, LabDoor

2. Gen Y Likes Frequent Check-Ins

“Micromanaging gets a bad rap because keeping close tabs on your employees requires a lot of time and effort on the part of the CEO or manager. Gen Y likes to have a lot of feedback, as long as you are allowing employees enough freedom to make mistakes and grow. I think frequently checking in can be a really great thing.”
~ Caitlin McCabe, Real Bullets Branding

3. Virtual Teams Tracking Time

“With my virtual team, the primary way I review my team’s time is by asking them to log in to track their time reporting. We use oDesk, and when logged in, the program screen captures every few minutes so I can see what my team has done when they log time. This helps ensure that a VA isn’t on Facebook when time is logged for article marketing and provides extra accountability.”
~ Kelly Azevedo, She’s Got Systems

4. Integrate Inquiries into Conversations

“I have used MBWA, and I’ve found that it really helps to strengthen one-on-one relationships with the people with whom I work. Once we start talking, it eventually becomes natural to bring up what they’re working on and get a status, and this way, I can motivate them with my excitement in person.”
~ Alexandra Levit, Inspiration at Work

5. Let Them Be Independent

“I don’t use this management technique; I encourage my staff to do the best they can and be independent. My staff is held accountable for their projects by setting deadlines, but micromanaging is not useful for any of us. Weekly meetings to discuss project statuses overcome the need for micromanagement.”
~ DC Fawcett, Paramount Digital Publishing

6. Keep Your Eyes Peeled

“I have used this technique frequently, as it is the only true way to effectively understand how your staff spends its time. Often, I act like I’m merely wandering the floor rather than checking on my staff. I constantly take mental notes, which I later put in writing. When I discuss my findings with staff members, it often leads to great results.”
~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

7. Truly Help Your Team

“Each member of our team is accountable for a dozen or more projects, some small and some large. We’re a very collaborative team, but even so, it’s impossible to know what the biggest pain point is at any time. My favorite question is “What can I do to help you?” The answer might be nothing, a small task, or a large one. Regardless, their answer gets me to the root need of everyone.”
~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

8. Don’t Be Old School

“Get your team on project management software and begin tracking performance based on productivity and output. You should not be worried about what your team is doing by creeping behind them in the office. Empower your employees by giving them tasks to complete which you can track online and not by becoming that boss that’s breathing down their necks.”
~ Raul Pla, SimpleWifi and UseABoat

9. Check In Weekly

“We use weekly meetings; I don’t use MBWA. I meet with all my direct reports weekly (and they meet with theirs). We cover accomplishments over the past week and priorities for the next

Related articles

• Top Ten Mistakes of Startups Rising from Nokia's Ashes (slideshare.net)
• What It Means To Be a Real Entrepreneur (akhlisblog.wordpress.com)
• How to Start a Microbusiness: Lessons from The $100 Startup (heybudblogger.wordpress.com)
• 15 Ways to Keep Your Startup Employees Motivated (businessinsider.com)
• 7 Everyday Ways To Inspire Your Employees (millennialceo.com)

Tags: Business, Entrepreneur, Management by wandering around, Micromanagement, Employment, Startup company, Virtual team, YEC