Top 5 Pros and Cons to Taking your Office Virtual

It started last August with what I now refer to as the "Great Computer Crash of 2011!". My laptop decided one Tuesday morning that it didn't feel like booting up. I'm a patient guy, and I know sometimes I abuse my laptop, so I decided to relax and to give it a few minutes and then I would try it again. And so I did, and I did it again and again until it became annoyingly apparent that the computer was indeed DOA.

No problem, I had just backed up the computer less than two weeks before with a system that was supposed to let me push one button to put my computer back exactly like it was at the time it was backed up. I grabbed my original restore disks that I had created when I first got the computer and went to town. Within an hour my laptop was working again, but just like it was when I first bought it. So I pushed the magical "restore from backup" button on my third-party backup system, and it didn't really work. It did move all of the files over, but just dumped them into a new folder on my laptop.

For the next two weeks I had to spend time, that should have been spent running my company and taking care of my clients, putting my laptop back like it used to be, with all of the same software, settings, etc.. And interestingly enough, after this happened, certain ads started to catch my attention.

Like this one from Google:

And this one from Microsoft:

 

So began my research into whether the best solution would be to go virtual with my company's office and basically just use hardware, any ol' hardware, as a dummy terminal to access that office. Or if sticking to the tried and true (and sometimes painful) status quo was what I should do.

This is what I have come up with, my list of Top 5 Pros and Cons to Taking Your Office Virtual:

PROS

1. Quick and easy access to your documents (assuming you live/work in an area where wifi connections are as abundant as reality stars). You can basically use anyone's computer, or in the Google Apps scenario, buy a Chromebook for under $500.
2. Backups, who needs them. They have always been a source of stress and pain for most computer users, me included. Now your documents are stored in the "cloud" and are the responsibility of your virtual office provider to keep backed up.
3. Virus protection, who needs it. Same scenario as with backups. Especially with the new Chromebook, which touts itself as the first computer built from the ground up with security and protection as a primary goal.
4. Collaboration is a breeze. Both Google Apps and Microsoft Office Live provide a myriad of collaboration options, from calendar sharing to project management tools. This is a significant advantage for either companies with multiple employees or contractors who work with many different clients, suppliers, etc..  For those completely independent professionals, this is not that great of a benefit for going virtual.
5. Less expensive. With a virtual office, you pay a monthly service charge to the provider, which could be as low or lower than $5 per month per person. Now think about how much money you would save by not having to purchase licenses. Even the cost of the most basic office software license, plus virus protection and more, can run into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars every year. Oh and did I mention how much you will save in IT support costs?

CONS

1. You have to completely rely on Internet access to do your job. If you lose that access, say you find yourself out of range, your service goes down, you forget to pay your bill... then you are just out of luck. A note here, the Chromebook and some tablets have 3G as a backup source for Internet connectivity.
2. There are applications that most professionals need and use on a regular basis that are not yet in the cloud, so you still need them resident on your computer. At least for the near future, there is really no true virtual office, more like a hybrid office instead.
3. Bleeding edge technology with bleeding edge issues. I read several posts from people who are already living in the cloud, and all have had performance and compatibility issues and straight up crashes as they've been working on their documents.
4. The tools are not as full featured as the licensed software. I believe Microsoft Office Live will come the closest to mimicking the same software you run on your computer now, with Google Apps still playing catch-up, but neither will be as robust as the latest office suite on today's computers.
5. Hmm, I can't think of a fifth one, so that means there are more pros than cons... where was that ad again?

If you agree, disagree, or have any questions, please comment on this blog or contact me at Ken@WebptOh.com or use my handy contact form located on my website at www.WebptOh.com.