Cloud Services Could Save You Time and Money

07 Sep, 2011

James Kim is a writer for Choosewhat.com, which provides product reviews and test data for business services and products. Choosewhat.com’s goal is to help small companies make informed buying decisions on business solutions that help their business.

Going viral is no longer an option — for many businesses it’s a requirement. More and more companies are shifting from physical to virtual entities. While people have debated whether this is a good or bad thing, this shift has brought a vast array of useful, cloud-based tools for entrepreneurs. From online fax to finances, there are now plenty of online services that can help you make your business more efficient. So what are you waiting for? Try out these online business tools.

1. Collaboration

As a CEO of a small-business, you may have to forego office space in the beginning phases of company development. However, these online communication services can help you stay in touch, regardless of geographic distance.

In-Company Communication

• Campfire: Offers private chat rooms, through which you can invite clients or employees
• GoogleDocs and ConceptShare: Share or comment on documents
• Skype: Free video chats and low-cost calls to landline and cell phones, easy open communication

Call Services

• RingCentral Fax: Provides online fax services, through which you can send faxes for free from home without interrupting your phone line
• GoogleVoice: Allows you to get low rates for international calls, and gives you one number for all of your phones with a single voicemail box
• NewVoiceMedia: Contact center solutions including call routing and CRM

2.  Organization

Juggling all the elements of a business can be enough to make a person go insane. Lucky for you, there are plenty of online services that help you tackle this difficult task.

Calendars and Planners

• GoogleCalendar: Calendar tool
• Skedgeme: Scheduling, allows you to accept/make appointments, and customers can see services and book online

File Backup

• Carbonite and IDrive: Offer unlimited backup plans at affordable prices, and allows you to access your information from mobile devices
• Box.net: Backup and collaboration at affordable prices for monthly plans
• DropBox: Allows the sharing/storage of large files

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

• Highrise: Helps keep track of customers, contact and communication history
• Commence: Quote based cost, has one system for sales, marketing and customer service

3.  Finances

It’s always good to utilize a program that will organize all your transactions, assets, and finances. These programs can help you do just that.

• Dimewise or Wesabe: Record transactions
• Prosper: Allows you to get loans from either a single person or many individuals

Thanks to online services, maintaining a business has never been easier. Access everything you need from your computer or, if your on-the-move, from your mobile device with cloud computing services.

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