Island Business Online

We're told there's an app for everything, but how can they help your business?

Glen Jones from Matrix e-business explains how valuable apps can be to any company.

Mobile apps to help your business

These software applications generally fall into two categories, practical and fun. For example you can download an app to check the weather, check your bank account, build a to-do list, or to check your emails. For a more light-hearted approach there are numerous game applications you can download, apps to amuse your children, even one to simulate blowing a vuvuzela!

Getting the basics right
Before launching head first into the App Store to see what apps there are to download, it’s important to get the basics right. Today’s smartphones are very powerful devices, and the ability to keep you connected to the internet is a potentially huge plus from a business point of view.

So the first things to look at are the two apps that will be built in to your smartphone, they are your email client and your calendar. Integrating these effectively with the systems you use in your office working environment is essential. Having the ability to deal with important emails when you have 10 minutes on the boat or train, and having live access to your diary from your phone when you are at a meeting are two of the biggest business benefits you are going to get from your mobile device.

Apps versus mobile sites
You can view websites on most mobile phones these days and many companies already have a mobile only website. Mobile websites that are browser based are less expensive to develop than dedicated apps for each mobile platform. Although mobile websites can be produced far quicker and cheaper than apps, apps can be used ‘offline’ when reception is not good. Apps also have the advantage of a good ecosystem; the best example of an app store is still Apple's. They offer a vertically integrated ecosystem making it easy for iPhone users to access media through the iTunes store at the tap of a finger.

Apples, Blackberries, and Androids
When looking at apps, especially if you ever consider developing one, it is important to understand the changing marketplace for apps, and the current battle for supremacy.

The platforms that are taking all of the headlines currently are Blackberry, iPhone, and Android. Android, the newest contender to the smart phone crown, was originally bought by Google in 2005, but was opened up to other handset manufacturers in 2007. Android 2.1 which was released at the end of last year, is finally coming of age and is shaping up to be a real contender with a huge increase in owners from April 2009 to April 2010.

Android is slightly different in that the operating system is not tied to a single manufacturer’s devices. However, it is worth noting that currently there are approximately 10 times more Apple devices in circulation than Android devices and both currently lag behind Blackberry in terms of users by a three to one ratio.

Although the iPhone is seemingly taking all of the headlines at the moment it is worth noting that they only have 18 per cent of the UK smartphone market and only 4 per cent of the overall European mobile market. But what a 4 per cent! iPhone users in Europe account for 12 per cent of mobile data; so usage is very high.

Notable apps
So, do all of these figures actually mean anything to businesses? Well Argos saw a 600% increase in traffic to its website last year, in part prompted by iPhone usage. According to Argos, they reacted to this by releasing an iPhone app that was downloaded half a million times in the three weeks after its launch. The app lets customers check the availability of items in local Argos stores and reserve them for collection. Siobhan Fitzpatrick, head of Argos brand marketing, said: "The iPhone app formed an important strand within the first burst of our 'Find It. Get It. Argos It.' ad campaign."

So what apps should I take a look at?
Well, you have quite a choice. The iTunes app store has a selection of 225,000 apps that have been downloaded over four billion times since June 2008. Don't worry if you don't have an iPhone, there are 80,000 Android apps and 6,500 Blackberry apps.

So here are my top 30 must-see apps for business users:

Networking apps for business:

LinkedIn: (iPhone/BlackBerry) – Free
Why you should use LinkedIn is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice to say if you want to get and stay ahead you need to be ‘linked in’ with this professional networking site.

Facebook: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android) – Free
These days I seem to be connecting with colleagues and friends far more often on sites like Facebook than I do on sites like LinkedIn. Facebook was the most popular mobile site among UK mobile web users in March, recording 2.75bn unique page views and 5.9m unique visitors spending a total of 2bn minutes on the site, according to figures from ComScore’s Mobile Media Metrics (MMM).

Twitter: Many apps including Tweetdeck and Twitpic – Free
Twitter is a very effective way of communicating to lots of users, whether as part of the networking for your business or for personal use. There are applications for each platform to help you use Twitter more effectively.

SKYPE: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android) – Free
Popular platform for cheap internet calls and online chat.

News apps for business - For those that need their finger on the pulse:

New York Times (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) – Free
Gives quick access to the most popular content, and a search if you are looking for a particular story.

Guardian (iPhone) - £2.39
The Guardian app does have to be purchased, but comes with some clever features allow you to read or listen to content when you are offline.

Metro UK (iPhone / iPad) – Free
The Metro app works by showing you the paper, page by page, but the opening screen that lets you scroll between issues is a nice touch.

Productivity apps for business:

Documents To Go: (iPhone/Blackberry/Android) – from £5.99
Useful app for reading and editing Office documents.

EverNote: (iPhone/Blackberry/Android) – Free
A clever web-based system that allows you to remember everything. You gather information in the form of text, sounds, pictures, web pages etc, and Evernote lets you file things to access later from any computer, or your phone of course.

DropBox: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) – Free
An online account to store important files. Use the online app to access your business plan or sales projections from anywhere.

Voice Recorder: (Built in on iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) – Free
Today’s version of the Dictaphone, record information for yourself or record meetings.

Wordpress: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) – Free
Need to update your blog from anywhere, well if it’s powered by Wordpress you are in luck.

Photoshop.com Mobile: (iPhone/Android) – Free
If you are serious about posting or sending photos whilst out and about, then this is an important app for you. This allows you to make simple edits on photos on your handset.

Integrate your CRM system: (Various)
There are many CRM systems out there, and a variety of ways to access them or sync them to your phone. Blackberry users may want to look at the Goldmine CRM app.

Monitoring apps:

Xero: (iPhone only) – Free, but Xero requires a monthly fee.
Xero is a Windows and Mac based accounting system, with mobile web access and an iPhone app. Xero for iPhone gives you an overview of the accounts for every organisation you manage. See all your bank balances, recent transactions and who owes you money. You can even call any contact with a single tap. www.xero.com

Xe (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android) – Free
Monitor exchange rates.

Analytics App (iPhone) - £0.59
Allows you to access Google Analytics from anywhere, to monitor the performance of your website.

Travel apps for business:

Tube map: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) – Free
Includes a scrollable tube map, along with the status of each line to anticipate delays.

National Rail Enquiries: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) - £4.99
A must have for the regular traveller.

General apps for business:

Compare Everywhere: (Android) – Free
Point the camera at a bar code, on a book, DVD, or any kind of product and the phone auto-detects it, vibrates when it's scanned the code, and brings up the product details, with prices at online stores and bricks and mortar retail locations near you.

Cab4me: (iPhone /Android) – from Free
Cab4me helps you to find a taxi when you need it. Start on the map and select your approximate pickup location.

Pointer Remote for PowerPoint and Keynote: (iPhone) - £0.59
This app turns your handset into a handy pointer to control your presentations, whilst showing your notes on the handset.

Translation apps: (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android/iPad) – Free
There are various apps to help translate text.

UK Postage Calculator: (iPhone) - £1.19
A useful way to check the required postage if you have regular parcels and packages to deal with.

Bespoke apps
You don’t need to limit yourself to what is currently available. If you can think of a killer app that could revolutionise the way your company works, why not get it built for you?

Maybe an app could give your staff access to key internal information systems, could allow you to keep tabs on your orders or stock, allow you to see where your drivers are. Basically if you can imagine it, it can probably be built.

Summary
Apps are here to stay. At over 300,000 and counting quickly, it is a rapidly developing marketplace. There are many apps out there that can assist your business in one way or another, it’s really just a case of deciding how your mobile could best assist you and your staff, and finding the relevant apps to suit your needs.