Making the Cloud Work for You

As our regular readers know, we talk about cloud computing quite a bit on our blog.  This is obviously because here at The Vested Group, we feel that one of the best cloud solutions for your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Resource Management), e-commerce, and other web based business management system needs is NetSuite – one of the world’s most implemented cloud computing solutions.  In addition to all of the benefits a cloud solution like NetSuite can provide for your organization, did you know the cloud has much more to offer than you may know?

We recently came across an article published by PC World that listed 21 excellent ideas for making the cloud work for you, with many of these ideas not costing a cent! Because we are such big fans of the cloud ourselves, we are going to share our favorite ideas from this list with you today. 

Make the cloud your default download destination

By default, most Web browsers deposit files in your Downloads folder, and then you turn around and upload those files to a cloud service. You can take out the middleman (i.e., you) by venturing into your browser’s download settings and changing the destination to any folder that’s already set to sync. Now you’ve got an easy, automated way to back up or share your downloads.

Autosave Gmail attachments to the cloud

You already know that some online drives let you forward email attachments, but that’s an extra step. Attachments.me, a free browser plug-in for Chrome and Firefox, offers one-click attachment uploading to Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, or SkyDrive. You can also set up rules so that future emails from, say, a particular contact get automatically routed to a specific service.

Sync browser settings across all devices

You’ve probably spent years building a library of bookmarks, so it makes sense to back them up. Chrome and Firefox offer built-in bookmark syncing, which preserves your favorites (and passwords) in the event of data loss and also syncs them to other PCs running the same browser.

Get extra free space

A free Dropbox account entitles you to 2GB of cloud storage, while SugarSync gives you 5GB. Not bad, but you can always use more. Thankfully, both services allow you to earn extra space without opening your wallet. For example, for each friend you refer to SugarSync, you get an extra 500MB. Dropbox matches that offer, but rewards you with even more space when you complete a “getting started” checklist, connect to your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, and perform various other tasks.

Stream your music library

Liberate your music library from your PC by sending it to the cloud, making it available anywhere you go (and also acting as a handy backup). One of the best options is Google Play, which lets you upload up to 20,000 songs—including any you might have in iTunes—and stream them to other PCs and devices. Its Windows client automatically syncs newly added music, and there’s a download option in case you need to restore your library.

There are a lot of other great cloud usage tips to be found in PC World’s original article which can be read in it its entirety here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036515/21-tips-for-supercharging-your-cloud-storage.html  Have an ingenious idea of your own for using the could? Share your thoughts in a comment below!