The Cloud is here to stay, and I’m moving there!

I have recently had some technical issues with different laptops, which made my ability to work on-the-go more difficult to maintain. I was quick to realize and take advantage of the benefits of storing work, documents, preferences, and settings in the cloud.

The timing of this change in the way I work is very appropriate because I also recently upgraded my main communication device to a Motorola Moto G by Google. I am in love with my new device, and I am grateful that Google released it before they sold off Motorola to Lenovo.

Acquiring the Moto G gave me two strong incentives to become more Cloud Based. The ability to primarily use cloud telephony through Google Voice and an extra 50 GB of space on my Google Drive. Thanks big G!

Dealing with PC fails made me learn to sit down at any laptop with an internet connection and be able to pick-up where I left off on a different computer. Before flash drives were everywhere, I was in the habit of emailing documents to myself or keeping files stored on an FTP server. Without using cloud services, keeping documents and folders synced across multiple devices is a challenge and a hassle. Too many times have I loaded my work documents on a flash drive–only to discover an hour into working that I forgot to include one important file.

In addition to the way I work and store documents, moving to the cloud has greatly improved my ability to communicate. I am not embarrassed to say that I was a very late adopter of smart devices. I was just never really impressed with anything that was out there. When I got my Motorola, I did not migrate my number that I have had for 13 years. I kept my dumb-phone and its number, and I now use that as my home phone. I connected my smart phone to my Google Voice number that I have had for over 5 years. Google Voice is great, and inspired me to refrain from calling my Moto G a ‘phone’. I refer to it as my Cloud Device because that term more accurately describes the way I use it. It has a phone app (Google Voice), but I don’t even use that as much as the other features.

My favorite thing about using cloud telephony is the way my number follows me from computer to computer and device to device.  Whenever I am logged into Google and someone calls me, it starts ringing on the computer first. I can answer it on the computer, or wait a few more seconds for it to start ringing to my mobile device. The same works for video chats through Google Hangouts. Between a standing desk, multiple laptops, a tablet, and my new smart cloud device, Google Voice makes it easy to manage my calls.

So this story explains how I have moved to the cloud. When I want quite time, I can set all my communication programs to send to message, and anyone who wants to get in touch with me can use my home phone.

//insert clever cloud welcome mat greeting here