The Cloud - don’t download, don’t upload, just connect.

Let us say you work from home and gaze out the window. You notice a neighbour planning some ambitious DIY. They’ve hired a mini digger for some modifications to their garden. They unload the machine from a lorry and begin moving large amounts of earth. They feel confident with the controls until suddenly, they hit a power cable and take out the electricity supply. They kill your computer and paralyse your business.

Usually a Chauffeur starting up in business just needs a mobile phone and a diary. As their work level increases they might prefer a calendar system or a lap top. Either way they often need some kind of system to log journeys (and help with invoices). A bigger company could use a dedicated software system (loaded from a disk and run on a single computer in their office).

The problem is a computer requires someone to sit at the screen and enter or alter information. This increases overheads because the operator also needs heating, lighting, premises and insurance etc. One way we overcame the issue was to use remote desktop, logging in through the Internet but it only allowed one user at a time to connect. There was also a 20 minute upload cycle which meant a delay for customers viewing new bookings on their dedicated web page.

In 2008 we approached a software developer and asked them to build an online booking system which we could access and control from smart phones. In April 2009 it went live. Now all our customers, managers and drivers connect in real time with no delays. Today it is called cloud computing (it used to be cyber space). Best of all, the data is stored in a secure centre which has battery backup and diesel generators - just in case someone else hires a mini digger!