CONSIDER THIS YOUR CRYSTAL BALL In the near future, information systems and smart devices will automate many jobs that exist today, changing the nature of skills that are in high demand. As social technologies play a more important role in value creation, skills such as social intelligence and new media literacy, among others, will become increasingly vital for anyone trying to make a decent living. Cloud computing has proven a critical tool to businesses-especially small businesses, for which it hits a particularly sweet spot. With cloud services, small businesses reap the benefits of not having to deploy physical infrastructure like file and e-mail servers, storage systems or shrink-wrapped software. This book will show, it's not a stretch to say that aside from a locally installed desktop operating system and browser (or increasingly, from a single mobile device) a lot of today's small business technology needs can be fulfilled almost completely with cloud-based offerings.