It’s a mobile-first world, we all know that, but the era of running every important aspect of life from a smartphone app does not just apply to our personal lives. Businesses are also becoming increasingly reliant on mobile tech as they operate in what is rapidly becoming a 24 hour per day and 365 day per year business environment.
Some businesses can be run entirely from a mobile device. But even for those that still operate, at least partially, in the physical world, the right mobile apps can make all the difference, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
Communication
People are quick to joke that today, we use our phones for everything except making phone calls. This is true to a certain extent, but only because they can provide us with better, cheaper and more effective ways to communicate. Conferencing apps are of vital importance in this era of remote teams, and there are plenty out there to choose from. Slack is one of the most popular, with its simple-to-use interface, multiple channels and facilities for conference calling and document sharing.
Inventory management
Today’s businesses need to run slick and lean. Having too much inventory puts a strain on cash flow and can lead to wastage, while not enough can bring business to a halt and lead to unhappy customers. Keeping on top on material inventory management is something of an art form in its own right, and the right software is essential. Choose a product that can integrate with other key areas such as your accounting software and your ecommerce app.
Documentation
How often have you received an email, read the body of it on your smartphone and decided to open the attached document when you are back in front of a computer? Given that today’s smartphones have all the processing power to fly us to the moon and back, surely it is not too much to ask them to be able to show us a word document, spreadsheet or presentation in a format we can read? At last, Microsoft has provided a version of Office that works effectively on Android, and not before time.
Payment apps
Being able to send and receive invoices on the go is a functionality that should not be underestimated. After all, it is the fundamental reason any business exists. Again, there are plenty of payment apps around, and most banks provide mobile payment options, although not always on their business accounts. The great fall-back is, of course, PayPal, much beloved of contractors and freelancers in the gig economy the world over. Where would they be without it?
Travel apps
All this talk of being “on the go” suggests that despite conducting so much business online, travel is still an important part of the commercial landscape. There are numerous apps that are invaluable to business travellers including OandA for currency rates and Google Maps to know where you are going. But the most popular of them all is Uber. Install it on your Android and you need never be “taken for a ride” by an over-enterprising taxi driver again.
