There’s a Business App for That

Al Diamond, president of Agency Consulting Group, a Cherry Hill, New Jersey, industry consultant, has long been a fan of mobile gadgets.

Back in the 1980s, Diamond lugged a microwave-sized Compaq portable computer on business trips. “It had two floppy drives and a three-inch screen, but I thought it was the greatest invention ever because I could run my business from the road,” he recalls.

These days, Diamond can do most of that and more with his iPhone. The mobile applications, or “apps” in techno-speak, that are installed on his phone make Diamond’s near-continuous travel vastly easier. One shows him the quickest driving routes and alerts him to traffic jams on the way to the airport. Another tracks his flight status. Instead of saving a mountain of paper receipts, Diamond uses an app to snap pictures of them, sort them and assign them to various clients’ accounts. He’s in the market for more apps specifically tailored to his consulting business. Using a smartphone “has changed the way I work,” he says.

There was a time when executives such as Diamond used mobile devices like the iPhone and BlackBerry simply to check email or stock quotes. But thanks to an ever-growing number of business apps, the devices have evolved into important tools in the 24-7 global marketplace.

More CFOs and other executives are using them all the time. A 2009 survey by technology researcher Yankee Group found 20 percent of executives use smartphone apps, compared to just 9 percent of their staff.

Along with the broader bandwidth available for users of handheld Internet devices, the latest mobile software has turned the devices into a source of continuous, real-time business data and analysis, decision-making aids and tools for overseeing far-flung staff and operations.

Sam Gross, vice president of global outsourcing solutions at technology consulting firm Unisys, cites the web-oriented design of Google’s new Nexus One smartphone as an example of where the industry is headed because its available apps include programs that can handle basic word-processing and spreadsheet functions. “The Nexus One is based on the expectation that in the future, businesspeople will access the Internet and their apps through their smartphone, the way they do now on PCs,” Gross says.

Smartphone technology is evolving so rapidly that picking the right devices and apps can be bewildering for all but the most tech-savvy. It’s no surprise some execs simply throw up their hands and ask IT managers to choose for them, while others stick to using smartphones to shout over jet noise at airport gates.

Experts say executives who research the options and select apps suited to their work style and decision-making processes can significantly increase their productivity. Using mobile applications costs little or nothing, since many vendors give them away to users of their more-expensive enterprise software.

Choosing Your Apps
It wasn’t long ago a BlackBerry with custom software loaded by the IT department was a business user’s default choice. The volume and diversity of smartphone apps flooding the market has reversed that. “I usually just say, write down a list of all the things you want to do,” says Marcy Hardinger, a Maryland-based consultant who helps executives find the best apps for their BlackBerrys. Hardinger, who also helps developers test business apps, doesn’t have to do much searching to find apps, especially now that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has set up the BlackBerry Apps Store to compete with Apple’s iPhone Apps Store. Other brands are following this trend too: Google runs the Android Market and Palm has an online apps store.

It’s increasingly possible to find versions of the same app for multiple devices. Business software vendor HyperOffice, for example, recently released a beta version of HyperSynch, an app for synching and sharing contacts, calendars, projects and notes that works on all major smartphone brands. Evernote, a popular text and image database software app, has versions for Windows Mobile devices, the iPhone and the Palm Pre.

Here are some mobile apps for finance, business and management you may find useful:

Management tools
LiveCycle Workspace ES2 Mobile for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and iPhone, lets users bypass a crowded email inbox to quickly approve a variety of internal requests. LiveCycle creates a dedicated task list inbox for items ranging from purchase requests and contracts to HR, IT, legal and finance documents and forms. Users can approve or reject a request with one tap or autodial the requester for more information. The app is free for users of Adobe’s LifeCycle Process Management ES2 suite.

With Jott, a smartphone user calls a number and dictates an email or memo. Automated speech recognition (ASR) software records the memo, then human editors touch it up and deliver it as an email, text message or web update. Jott says its security measures protect messages’ confidentiality, and that no personally identifiable information is visible to proofreaders. Users pay a $12.95 monthly subscription for unlimited transcription of messages of up to 30 seconds each or a flat fee of $6.95 per 5 minutes of service.

The mobile version of Fuze Meeting conferencing software, for the BlackBerry and iPhone, lets users attend a mobile web video conference or run an audio conference. The $279 per-person annual fee covers up to 25 meeting invitations a month; fees for corporate subscriptions are negotiable.

Insight, previously known as Encamp, is a mobile version of Basecamp, a project management app that makes it easier for groups of people in or outside a company to work together. With Insight, users can track projects, assign, delegate, and complete tasks, post messages and comments, and add time logs. The $9.99 iPhone app requires a subscription to Basecamp, which costs up to $50 a month.

Locale, a free Google Android app, stops the phone from ringing in the wrong place at the wrong time, such as during an important meeting. The GPS-enabled app lets a user specify times or places they want the ringer turned off or set to vibrate. During those times or at those locations, the phone automatically resets the ringer.

Information and Analytics
In 2008, Oracle became the first major business software vendor to develop an iPhone app, and its Business Indicators app remains one of the more sophisticated mobile business intelligence and CRM tools available. Road warriors can use it to interact with their company’s Oracle Business Intelligence software to get financial, human resources, supply chain and customer relationship management data. The app also generates up-to-date reports and alerts. It’s free for companies that use Oracle’s BI suite.

Extended Results’ PushBI service gives customers dedicated servers they can use to continuously gather and distribute real-time business data. The service includes software for Windows computers as well as a free mobile app for Windows Mobile devices, BlackBerrys and iPhones. Smartphone users get continuously updated lists of pre-determined performance indicators they can click on for additional details, trend charts and other decision-making data.

Travel
INRIX Traffic! Pro, an iPhone and Google Android app, maps driving routes based on real-time traffic conditions and suggests when a driver should leave and how long a trip will take. Drivers can store favorite routes and track accident alerts or construction that could affect trip times. A feed from the company’s nationwide network of traffic cams shows live video of traffic conditions. The service costs $9.99 a year or $24.99 for a lifetime subscription.

Mobile Receipt, a $4.99 iPhone app, allows travelers to convert a camera phone picture of a paper receipt into an expense report. The app uses optical character recognition to extract data that’s inserted into a form and attaches a cropped, scaled version of the picture to the report, which can be emailed to a company’s accounting department.

The Concur Mobile corporate travel booking and expense reporting app for the iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile platforms lets travelers manage and document virtually every aspect of a trip, from looking up flights to searching for and booking rental cars, hotels, dining reservations and taxis. The app captures camera phone images of receipts that can be linked to expense reports and helps employees follow corporate travel policies. Managers can view, approve or reject employees’ expenses while they’re on the road, potentially enabling companies to better control costs. The free app is integrated with other Concur travel and expense applications.