As hard drive space increases with each iteration of hardware. Cloud computing requires us to have less and less of it each time. As I’m setting up the structure of this freelance/indie game dev venture, I’m making a conscious effort to make sure as much of my software is cloud based. Cloud computing allows us to keep our data accessible from anywhere where access to internet is available on servers hosted by the service provider. Why is this important for me?
Over the years I’ve moved around quite a bit and the result of that is that I have friends and family in many places. As I develop and grow my business, I want to make it as location independent as possible. I want to have the option to stay on top of things from anywhere where an internet connection is present. This will allow me to get work done at the same time enjoy the benefit of being with friends and family in whatever area I feel like being at the time.
Cloud computing is just taking off. The current options are limited and still have a lot of ways to grow and improve. Issues of security and privacy are still valid but it’s something that will improve over time.
The transition to cloud based computing has been a gradual one for me. I’ve installed Evernote as my primary note taking software. Evernote allows me to take notes, pictures, and audio clips and store them on Evernote servers. It’s a great way to quickly and easily write down ideas when inspiration hits. I like the fact I don’t have to save my progress, automatic save feature allows me to drop in at anytime, make any changes or additions that I need to my notes and step away. It automatically syncs when accessed from other devices which is nice to make short notes on mobile devices.
Wunderlist is my task management solution. It allows me to add/check off tasks with ease. If necessary I’m able to share my tasks with other people who can check of lists as they get it done. It’s a great way for me to organize my ideas into actions I can easily tick off and manage. Once again the biggest benefit is that it’s available on many different platforms so I could do it from anywhere on any device.
I use Google Docs for storing bigger files such as spreadsheets and more formal Word documents and PowerPoint Presentations and Dropbox as my online storage/basic backup solution.
So far I’ve been satisfied with using these applications and the promise of cloud based applications definitely has it’s appeal especially for a business who plans to be mobile and be able to move whenever and where it needs to.