Written by Matthew J. De Reno Wednesday, 09 June 2010 11:16

“Cloud Computing” with Your Website

When it comes to computing and personal productivity, I tend to oscillate between desktop computing applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, or following more of a cloud computing paradigm, available through various free Google applications, such as using Google Docs. Sometimes I invoked a combination of both models. For instance, I would have my Outlook copy all mail to Gmail. In Gmail, I would create Google Docs directly from my email. Whether going fully desktop based or web-based (e.g., “in the cloud”) there are benefits and drawbacks to each system. A well-engineered website might bridge the gap and in this posting I want to discuss how you might do that.

Cloud computing allows you access to your data wherever you might have an internet connection. Hard-drive based applications grant you absolute control over your data and put security in your own hands. Would you really want all your sensitive customer information to be available out there in a Google Doc? What if Google was down? What if the the site you were using to store your docs was down? Then again, what good does the data do you if you are in Singapore and your computer is in Pittsburgh?

It got me thinking. Perhaps a better strategy might be labeled “situational computing.” This could entail the tactic of employing  desktop based applications when they seem to fit the task better and then switching to cloud-based applications as the project dictates.

Sounds reasonable, but such equivocation could be no long term solution at all. Perhaps what we need is a model that delivers both the benefits of a hard drive and cloud based applications at the same time? A well-engineered website might pull such a rabbit out of the hat.

The beauty of a website that  has both the tools to deliver results backed with a comprehensive strategy on integrating and using the tools the website provides, is that it acts like a “cloud” that travels with you, yet gives you the benefits of essentially a hard drive-based web application.  After all, you are responsible for the web server and the physical computer that runs it.

A website is essentially a cloud that can follow you wherever you go. It is not a shared cloud, it is your cloud (unless you want to share it). How do you achieve that? Retooling your website as a project management application is one way you might achieve this model. I now use my website as a project management tool.

There are some good open-source applications on the market for doing so. Since my website is Joomla-driven, I use ProjectFork. Project Fork allows me to create project spaces for an unlimited amount of projects. I also have forums, notes, file managers, the ability to set and track project milestones and more. I can make this application as secure as I want to on my website.

The great thing is that now my website, ScratchWriting.com, has become my cloud computing solution with the benefits of hard drive.

I am not advocating that everyone should have their own website just so that you too can have the benefits of your own “computing cloud” that follows you. After all, securing your website is then your responsibility. If you are like me, however, and have wrestled with the hard-drive and cloud-based models, then it could be the perfect time to get your head in the clouds while taking your desktop applications with you.