The world is becoming more competitive as each day goes by. There is hardly market which isn`t completely saturated with companies struggling for their piece of the cake and trying to balance reaching out to new customers and holding on to the ones they currently have. In such an environment, you need every possible advantage if you want to thrive. While you may like the fact that you get a couple of minutes alone with your thoughts while you`re commuting, you could be using that, and any other time when you don`t have your PC at hand, more productively than you are using it now. These apps should help you stay connected and organized regardless of where you are, and by doing so allow you to excel at your job.
Google Drive
This should be an obligatory entry in every article of this type for a couple of simple reasons: its free, comes with 15 GB free storage, offers great collaboration options and gives you the ability to create and share documents, sheets and presentations. This means that you are provided with all the basic tools that you might need, that you can always easily share your work with your colleagues and receive their input, while the ample storage means that you can always access critical files regardless of the device you are using.
Evernote
One of the most highly praised and used note taking apps that offers a ton of options when it comes to organizing your research materials, tasks reminders, and basically everything that you need to keep in mind. Apart from allowing you to organize your data in numerous ways, according to your preferences, the app is also available on all major platforms, including Windows, Android, iOS, Windows Phone and other, which means that you can have it installed on all of your devices and have it synced up without having to do anything.
TripIt
A lifesaver for everyone who has to travel a lot. If you need to go on a business trip you probably don`t want to spend all your time planning for the trip, arranging the tickets and finding the right lodging, and this is where TripIt steps in. The app helps you find and book the right flight or buy train tickets, get a list of available hotels at your destination, along with the customer reviews, find different points of interest at the location, plan out an itinerary, and generally, organize a trip without having to devote too much time to the task.
Wunderlist
Another app that allows you to organize your tasks, Wunderlist is known for its intuitiveness and ease of operation. There are not too many options for customizing how the app works, but its layout is quite straightforward and useful as it is, so there is really no need to tweak it too much.
LogMeIn
This app allows you to access your desktop from your mobile device, and do just about anything that you would be able to do if you had your PC in front of you. While not convenient for prolonged work, due to the small screen of your mobile device, it can be a lifesaver in case of an emergency when you simply have to do something and are nowhere near your PC.
Skype
At least as useful as it is on your PC, Skype on your mobile device makes it much easier to hold conference calls and get in touch with your associates from the world over. Mobile app offers all the functionality of its desktop counterpart and while some versions of this app for certain platforms had some problems in the past, the issues have been ironed out, and now you can find a reliable version of this app pretty much regardless of the type of the device you are using.
Zite
This app is basically a news/magazine reader that tracks what kind of articles you are often reading and offers suggestions based on what it perceives as your field of interest. You can connect it to your Twitter account and make sure that it has even more to work with. The digest that it provides you with is usually well chosen and allows you to stay in the loop when it comes to current issues in your industry.
SignNow
While most of the transactions in today`s business are performed electronically, you still have to sign documents quite often. In the past this meant that you either had to be present at your office, or to have the documents in question sent to you. Luckily, with apps like SignNow, you can simply have the documents scanned and easily sign them on your mobile device. Signatures of this type hold all the legal weight that a typical signature would, so you don`t have to worry that they might be declared invalid.
Check out below infographic by Xlntelecom for 20 more apps for small businesses. This is all in one app guide includes - file sharing, security, video conference, project management, accounting, time management, marketing, data management, recruitment and invoicing.
Graphic source: http://www.xlntelecom.co.uk/business-resources/small-business-apps/
About author:
MAryAnn Graves is a freelance writer and a social media manager who works mostly on her mobile phone HTC Wildfire S. She thinks of mobiles as the future of business and loves to keep herself updated with the latest news about mobile apps and gadgets.
