Project Management in the Cloud

Any project that involves more than one person is depending upon open communication and some form of collaboration.  Email changed how we communicate but wasn’t much good for collaboration.  Things are changing now.

MHT’s article on collaborating in the cloud focuses on the cost savings companies can make by utilizing cloud based software.  Law.com has a great round-up of why cloud collaboration works for lawyers, it’s actually usefully for just about any business model though.  Lastly, ZDNet recently interviewed drop.io’s CEO Sam Lessin, a service that offers real-time collaboration in the cloud, designed to cut costs and boost productivity.

The cloud offers so much, it’s nice to finally see dedicated software and development towards bridging the gap for email, instant messaging and virtual white boards.

Tags: Collaboration
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Cloud computing is hot right now, mostly because apps and data don’t live locally, but is it safe?  Many different aspects have been covered, including a list of online backup solutions based in the cloud, but can you trust putting all your data there, all the time?

David Berlind attacks this question head on, so does CBS News and Adept Technologies has a great follow up / rebuttal article to CBS’s article.  All of them kind of point to the same solution, strong passwords, established companies, back-up everything in several locations.

This should also be a notice to change your password to something other than, password, your dog’s name, birthday or street name.

Tags: Safety, Security
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With hundreds of cloud applications out and even more coming daily, selecting the right one isn’t as easy as a Google search anymore.  Run down this list of criteria and answer the questions before you start to utilize any cloud application.

1. How long has the company been in business, will the be in business next year?  Utilizing something like Google Apps is probably a safe bet, I don’t see Google going out of buisness tomorrow.
2. Does the company make any claims for data storage and integrity? Important if you’re using an online backup solution and their servers crash, with our only copy of data.
3. What is the cost of ownership over the span of time I will use it?  $10 / month may sound cheap, but if it’s $10 per license, per month and you need 100 seats, that small $10 monthly app just turned into a $12,000 yearly bill.
4. Will the application grow with you, or will you outgrow it?  Sometimes it’s hard to plan two to five years down the line, but if the application can’t grow with your needs, why bother using them to start with?
5. Can you download all your data from them, whenever you want? Is there a fee to do so?
6. Read the TOS, make sure you actually agree with everything.
7. Is there an efficient way to contact the company? A contact form is nice, but if you are on a time critical job you probably can’t wait several hours for an email response.  Check to see if the company offers telephone and or chat support, and that the time it’s available meets your needs.
8. Is the application cross browser and computer compatible? Chances are, someone on your team will utilize a different browser or computer that you use, everyone needs to access the data though.

Tags: Cloud, Security
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SaaS, an acronym for Software as a Service, is on a rise, and it’s easy to see why.  The Wikipedia describes SasS as,

a model of software deployment whereby a provider licenses an application to customers for use as a service on demand

Because the actual software lives on another computer, often on a web server to the parent company of the SaaS, it puts less load on localized computers. Additionally, since it’s only used when needed, the billing periods are often much lower.  A list of SaaS applications for project management is:

• Severa
• Viewpath
• Qtask
• Clarizen
• Google Apps
• Intuit
• @task
• Daptiv
• Zoho Projects

Free and fee based services are available and small groups to enterprise levels of tools to fit the needs of just about any project are available.

Tags: SaaS
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Utilizing the cloud for project management has so many benefits, but they do come with few things to be cautious of.  A perfect example of what could go wrong when utilizing cloud services happened earlier this month when a hacker exposed some private Twitter documents then shared them with blog giant TechCrunch, who published them.

A few simple steps can be taken to help prevent a similar situation from happening to you.

• Read the fine print when using any cloud based service, free or paid.
• Be sure to backup all cloud based content locally whenever possible.
• Use strong passwords

Most network administrators will tell you that the only safe way to store something is to do so multiple times, in multiple different locations.  This wouldn’t have helped Twitter, since it was published anyway, but it can cut down on total theft, say of a Laptop.

Because the vast majority of services offered in the cloud or Internet based, the possibility of a hacker gaining access is always possible, but so is the possibility of that your cloud based service has a server crash or simply goes out of business.  Planning ahead for these possibilities should always be considered when evaluating new applications.

Tags: Privacy, TechCrunch, Twitter
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Managing a project often means more than just assigning tasks and keeping tasks on track and on time.  Documents, files and interaction usually need to happen to keep things running smoothly and that’s what Google Wave hopes to accomplish.

Google Wave is a middle ground between Google Docs and Google talk, allowing project managers to work with everyone on assigned tasks, no matter the location of each person.  Mashable has lined up 6 game changing features and written a complete guide of Wave, and trust me, you need it.  Look Wave come September, this will clearly change how projects are managed from here on out.

Tags: Google Wave
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There are many ways to manage projects from traditional paper and pen to complex spread sheets, and even some premium software, but Google Apps makes project management so simple, it’s an easy choice for many different applications.

Darrel Hawes covers some of the benefits and shares links to thirs party apps to make Google Apps more fluent. In Appfrica’s review of the best and worst project managment apps, Google Apps ranked a 3.9, receiving a 1 out of 5 for not being open source.  In the grand scheme of things, I don’t care if it’s open source or not, and at a price point of $0, it’s still great. Keizng reviews Google Docs and compares it to a few other similar services, it says, Google Calendar is beautiful to bits.  Clearly they are a fan.

Combing Google Apps with Google Gears for offline access, and the ability to share, edit and store large amounts of data, it Google Apps should be a top consideration when choosing a tool to manage projects of any scale.

Tags: Google Apps
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Cloud computing has eliminated, to some extent, the need for large hard drives to run dedicated applications and store data, relying on storage servers online instead.  This means that less powerful computers can run apps, it also means that smaller devices, like the iPhone can now tap into the cloud.

InformationWeek has an article on Going Laptopless which focuses on utilizing apps on the iPhone instead of lugging around a full sized laptop.  Tuaw has a list of apps for the iPhone that utilize file storage systems, perfect, since the internal hard drive is somewhat limited.  Another app allows you to control Amazon’s Cloud services, discussed on PCWorld.

Managing projects, employees and time often means being mobile, and lugging a full sized laptop around isn’t always an option.  Luckily, cloud technology is moving forward with apps built for the iPhone and utilizing the 3g technology for broadband access.

Tags: iPhone
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Since we’ve already covered the Top Adobe Air Apps to Bring The Cloud Home, here’s a list of Google Gears Apps as well.  These apps allow of offline, or limited Internet connectivity yet still allow feature rich applications to work seamlessly into your prjects.

• Google Reader
• Remember The Milk
• Google Docs
• Paymo

CNET has also done a nice how-to write up on using web apps offline with Google Gears.

Tags: Google Gears
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Adobe Air has enabled software designers to create products that can tie in traditional cloud platforms, yet require limited or no Internet connection.  Here’s a roundup of the top  apps to bring the cloud home and  useful right from the desktop.

• AgileAgenda
• Xdrive Lite
• MiniTask
• Ora Time and Expenses
• Google Calendar RSS Invoice Creator
• Klok

Utilize these apps to manage projects, people and time efficiently and wisely.

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