One idea I had was to allow users to have their entire desktops living on external servers. This would allow them to access everything including files and programs from anywhere they had internet access. There are a few Citrix hosts out there, but they generally only support major applications and are fairly expensive.

What I would like to see is a system that:

• Allows me to connect by booting my laptop to an OS that takes less than 10 seconds to boot.
• Runs programs in multiple OSes like mosso.com lets you do for server based applications. I’d rather use their server power than my desktop to run all of those programs that like to run a services (backup, Quickbooks, *update).
• Allows me to move my entire business online in an integrated fashion that will allow for future expansion. In other words let my files live on Amazon S3 and other cloud spaces and enable me to use this a virtual file server, not just for files, but for databases and applications.
• Allow for incremental changes and regression testing. Thus allowing for a smooth transition to a cloud based system while making sure nothing is lost along the way.

This may be wishful thinking, but as our workforce becomes more decentralized, wouldn’t it make sense to make our data that way too. At the same time making sure it is more secure and controlled.

When I go to the Small Business Tech Summit tomorrow, I’m going to be looking for vendors who have applications that support deployment online and hopefully find ways to make my business powered by more web applications and less desktop applications.

p.s. Sorry about missing yesterday, in case you noticed. I guess hanging out with friends and watching the game was more important. Sorry about that and I’ll make it up. Look for a double header soon.