3 Cloud Platforms To Plan 4 Two


  • What is the Cloud?

  • Why Should We Use It?

  • 3 Ways to Use the Cloud to Plan 4 Two

  • 3 Main Cloud Platforms

  • How to Decide


What is the Cloud?

The cloud is basically a network of online servers that allows access to data using an internet connected device.  Chances are, you're probably using the cloud now:  iCloud - to sync your iPhone’s multimedia, contacts, and data; Dropbox - to store your personal files; Google - for your email or documents; or Office 365 - to store your office documents.  



Why Should We Use It?


In the past, sharing and editing documents consisted of bouncing emails back and forth with a Word document attached.  This practice was very cumbersome, as it required downloading the file, editing it in Office, adding it as an attachment, and then emailing the file -- sometimes even leaving you with multiple versions of the document on your computer, making it more difficult to manage.
One of the biggest reasons to use the cloud with your partner is to quickly and easily share information with each other.  When you have established this foundation, collaboration becomes very easy.  You can have shared grocery lists, photos, budgets, travel plans, etc.  



3 Ways to Use the Cloud to Plan 4 Two


Shared Photo Albums




[caption id="attachment_122" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Shared Calendar Google Calendar[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_125" align="aligncenter" width="274"]Grocery Lists Shared Grocery Lists[/caption]



The 3 Main Cloud Platforms

There are essentially three cloud platforms that you can use with your partner to collaborate and communicate.  

  • Google, 15GB Free.  

    • Plans: $1.99/month for 100GB, $9.99/month for 1TB.  

    • If you have a Gmail account, you already have a Google account.

    • Cloud Services:

      • Email:  Gmail

      • Notes:  Google Keep

      • Calendar:  Google Calendar

      • Photo Storage:  Google Photos

      • Word Processing:  Google Docs

      • Spreadsheets:  Google Spreadsheets





  • Apple,  5GB Free with iOS or Mac device.  1GB Free for non-iOS/Mac users

    • Plans: $0.99/month for 50GB, $2.99/month for 200GB, $9.99/month for 1TB.

    • If you have an iOS or Mac device you have an account: @icloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com  

    • Cloud Services:

      • Email, Notes, Calendar, Photo Storage: iCloud, iOS or Mac users ONLY

      • Word Processing:  Pages (via iCloud)

      • Spreadsheets: Numbers (via iCloud)





  • Microsoft Office 365, 5GB Free Online Version

    • Plans: $69.99/year for 1TB OneDrive storage, $99.99/year for 1TB OneDrive storage for up to 5 users

    • Cloud Services:

      • Email:  Outlook

      • Calendar, Notes:  Microsoft Calendar

      • Photo Storage:  OneDrive

      • Word Processing:  Word

      • Spreadsheets:  Excel









How to decide

Your preference may differ from your partner.  You may prefer Apple’s iPhone and Mac while he may prefer an Android phone and a Surface Tablet.  If both of you use all Apple devices, then centralizing all your documents in the Apple ecosystem will be the best idea.  Like any strong relationship, compromise is key!  Decide on which platform suits the both of you.  As you use a certain platform more, you will find out their strengths and weaknesses.  

There are hundreds of other great utilities out there like: Evernote, Dropbox, and Couple, but for now: Just pick one!  Consistently using your Microsoft Outlook email, Dropbox file storage, and Google Photos will make things more complicated to share and collaborate.  



In future posts

This article is the foundation for future posts where I will show you how to Plan 4 Two using the cloud services provided by Google.  The planning techniques and strategies that will be discussed can apply to any of the other cloud platforms and are easily imported.  I look forward to bringing you more information in the future.

Comments

  1. Ali MurzynskiAugust 5, 2016 at 2:45 PM

    Thanks for another informative website. Where else could I get that type of info written in such an ideal way? I have a project that I'm just now working on, and I've been on the look out for such info.

    ReplyDelete

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