Many business apps make bold claims about improving your work life and increasing your productivity. However, sounding cool and claiming your app makes things better is simply not enough. For a business app to be genuinely useful and worth downloading, it needs to actually solve a problem that users suffer, rather than just being a nifty idea.
With the ongoing trend of bring your own device (BYOD), and an uplift in remote working, enterprise mobile apps are becoming more common in everyday working life as work habits shift away from desktop and laptop only to increased business usage of smartphones and tablets. So, with a busy business app marketplace, it’s worth knowing which apps are worth your time to download and use. Just as LoopUp has set out to solve everyday conferencing problems – and our solution does indeed include an app – we wanted to highlight three apps which solve problems, too, and which we think should help you to be more productive, no matter where you’re working.
1. Problem:
Your notes are all over the place: some at work, others at home, others printed out… It’s hard to keep track of them all, and find them when you need them.
Potential Business App Solution: Evernote
Evernote, simply, lets you keep track of notes across all of the devices you use. Notes can be bits of text, webpages – or excerpts thereof – photos, voice recordings, file attachments and so on. It is somewhat like Pinterest, but less fixated on the visual and more business-focused. These notes can then be sorted into folders. So far, so useful for self-organization, especially if you’re the type of person who regularly sends yourself email reminders. Added to this is an element of collaboration: you can share individual notes and folders with others, and group edit these. For example, you could use it to share an interesting article on a topic your team is currently working on, an anecdote from a sales meeting that will help inform your colleagues on product design.
Platforms supported: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry
Cost: Free for individuals, business plans vary
2. Problem:
You find word processing when you’re away from your computer clunky and impractical.
Potential Business App Solution: Quip
Quip is a disruptive new word processor, which has been designed specifically for smartphones and tablet. So, unlike other word processors, you aren’t using a product that’s struggling to fit into the mobile context; instead its design has been guided by these devices. So, expect a simple UI with screen size automatically detected, as well as useful sharing features, such as shared folders and collaborative editing and discussion in one place. Usefully, you don’t need internet access to use it, either: you can use it offline, and it will synchronize when you are next connected.
Platforms supported: iOS, Android
Cost: Free for personal use (up to 5 users); business packages vary
3. Problem:
You have a document that you need others to view and edit, but it’s only saved locally.
Potential Business App Solution: Box
Box is an enterprise online file sharing and backup service in the cloud. It lets you save your documents in a personal account area, and access them wherever you are, whether from your computer or via their mobile app. It lets you invite others to view and edit your documents, including discussion features and version history tools, plus – if you are a Google Docs user – it handily integrates with Google Doc’s collaboration tools. So, in theory, there is no need to be separated from your files any longer.
Platforms supported: iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone
Cost: Free for up to 10 GB of storage for personal use; business packages vary
I hope these business apps suggestions help. Are there any other problem-solving enterprise apps we should add to this list?
LoopUp provides pain-free conference calls and online meeting in the cloud, with a smartphone app that lets you control your calls.
