subject: Sharing Documents With A Web-based Management Solution Sure Beats Getting Caught With Your Data Down [print this page] Several years ago, I was asked to represent a company at a trade fair in Japan. As part of the event, we had the option of bringing over digital files and documents for slide shows or presentations, as a stage and a screen would be provided. I created what I thought was the perfect presentation, complete with corporate and statistical data, translated into beautiful Japanese. I ran through the presentation with the company founders, and we all agreed that it was the perfect representation for what they wanted to accomplish in Japan. I loaded the media on to what I thought was a standard data storage device and headed to the beautiful city of Osaka. When I arrived, I wanted to show the presentation to some friends, so I unpacked my storage unit and asked them to point me to their computer.
"What's that?"
My heart sunk immediately. As it turns out, the company that created my storage choice had done vary well marketing their solution in the United States, but had failed miserably in Japan. No one had seen the media device I was using, and no one had the hardware on their computer for me to access my information. I called around to a few shops, and while a couple of them knew what I was talking about, none of them used that solution. I was starting to worry about the show, but was luckily about to find a small computer company that was a front for a DVD and software pirating operation. They had what I needed, and for a somewhat high price, were willing to transfer my data from my media to something more useful in Japan.
What would have been truly useful would have been a web-based document management solution. I could have prepared my presentation in the United States, uploaded it and any other necessary files to the web-based solution, and easily accessed them from any Internet-capable computer anywhere in the world. Once a tie-up with another company was established, sales files and other crucial documents otherwise too large or too general for email transfers could have been shared the same way, and with digital signatures, fully authorized contracts could have been shared between multiple entities, ensuring that everyone was on the same page at the same time when we were ready to roll out our joint business efforts.
Should a similar assignment come my way, I know that I'll be using a web-based document management solution, if for nothing else than to provide a crucial backup should my USB drive get lost on the plane.
