If you have not heard about Dropbox then you are missing out on one fabulous file sharing application.
Why all the buzz?
Dropbox is simple to use and with 2Gb of free storage, pretty affordable too. If you think 2Gb is awesome, you also have the chance to get even more free storage by completing the tutorial and also by inviting friends. Also, adding files is as simple as drag and drop to the folder.
I won’t go into the how it works or the many other benefits, you can find that at the Dropbox site.
My Case Study
I bought a new laptop to use for traveling, as I go often in our RV or back to the “big city”. That makes two laptops and a tablet that I needed to have access to my client files and business information. I could have migrated all the files from one computer to the next but that did not help if I was using one and then switched to the other. Enter Dropbox, with its file sync and sharing capabilities. Now I do not have to worry if I have the correct version of a document or have access to a client file that may have been sitting dormant waiting for an update.
Recently I was called out of town and had to pick up and just go. In this case picking and up go meant grabbing essential items and (GASP) laptops were not on that short list. When I got to my destination there was a message from a client that they needed to update a report I had been working on. If I only had that report on my hard drive I would be (as my dad often says) SOL. However, I told them they could find it in the Dropbox folder and to go ahead and make the changes so when I got settled I could do the formatting updates. Later that evening, I jumped on a family members computer, open my cloud Dropbox account, low and behold the file was sitting there waiting for me to add all my glory.
Many virtual business owners operate on the go and many entrepreneurs no longer have one source of technology. Think about how many devices you have and how helpful it would be to have access to the files on all of them.
Case Study 2.0
I traveled to Las Vegas for my daughters wedding a few weeks ago. From Pittsburgh, it is a four hour flight and anyone who knows me intimately knew for me to sit there for that long would be a killer. Having no Internet and lots of time, I decided to work on some of my materials. I opened up my “to review” folder of documents to apply my do it, delete it or delegate it rule. Made all the necessary changes or deletions and they went safely back into my folder. Once I had Wifi, all the files updated and synced and my devices were in perfect harmony again.
Even without Internet access you can still work on the file and not have to remember to “send the update” later.
And for those who have teams of 5 or more you can check out Dropbox for Teams
Still not convinced…tell us why.
