“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” – Bill Gates

Right! Now that a disclaimer is in place, I’d like to highlight some amazing and shockingly easy to use mobile apps that small and medium sized businesses cannot afford to ignore. Below are, our most favourite apps that we find best suited to individual business functions. The apps are broadly recommended for specific parts of the business, having said that the benefits of some certainly overlap.

Operations/Production/Service Delivery
Asana – (Free for unlimited teams of up to 15. Prices apply for more than 15)
No matter what your product or service, flawless collaboration is and always will be key to great success. We find Asana one of the best tools for project management for individuals and teams alike. It has an easy to use interface and a long list of very useful features.

Sales/Marketing
Insightly – (Free for up to 3 users. Reasonable pricing, USD$99/month for up to 40 users)
This one we use ourselves. It’s a feature rich, cloud based CRM (Customer Resource Management) system. There are no lock-in contracts or service agreements and is very simple and easy to implement. An intuitive interface and abundant free support make it unquestionably the best CRM for SMBs. We extensively use it for our sales and marketing campaigns, it is one app we could not do without. I could write an entire blog dedicated to how awesome this app is but then I wouldn’t be the only one.

Finance
Xero – (Starting at AUD$25/month for unlimited users. Most popular plan at AUD$60)
They call it ‘Beautiful accounting software’ and we concur except we also think it’s a workhorse with wings when it comes to doing our least favourite activity. Apart from making general accounting easy, it generates and records invoices, receives bank feeds and also reconciles them. It does payroll, auto superannuation and is multi-currency capable. It will save you weeks worth of boring accounting work a year.

Administration
Google Apps of Business – (AUD$5/user/month)
If ever there ever were a king of all apps, this would be it. From emails, calendars and files, to documents and presentations it does everything. This single cloud based app allows you to control almost all your IT administration from a surprisingly simple browser based dashboard. This, ladies and gentlemen, is an IT support killer.

All the apps above are cloud-based, can be accessed from almost all smart mobile devices and any macs or pcs. We encourage you to at least give the free ones a try. You have nothing to lose except, going back to the wise words of Mr Gates, before you decide to fully implement any or all of the above, ensure a sound mobile strategy is in place.

Do you use apps for your business? Are there any favourite ones you cannot work without? Have we missed any good ones? Or you want to know more. Feel free to leave us a comment below or email us at hello @ vocatys . com

Do you have a passlock, PIN or password on your smartphone?

Yes – Please continue reading

No – Set One Up Right Now! Then please continue reading.

Now with a proper lock on your phone, do you think your phone and all the information (emails, passwords, photos, banking details etc.) in it is safe?

It doesn’t matter what your answer is I suggest you keep reading.

For a long time now mobile strategy experts, users and I’m sure a great number of conspiracy theorists have been suspicious about the security on our mobile phones. A few days ago I came across an article referring to a series of posts from Latanya Sweeney, Chief of Technology at the US Federal Trade Commission. She goes into great technical detail on how your smartphones become a fantastic tracking device for anyone interested. She also talks about how retailers are already using such technologies to better target consumers.

Quite simply put, our phones are constantly communicating with mobile towers, Bluetooth devices, WiFi networks and when they are not connected, they are continuously seeking one. This constant communication is sent out as signals, with unique identifying details like MAC Addresses that are not secured or adequately encrypted. This lack of security is exploited by a number of commercially available devices that are very easy to use, portable and come with an impressive list of features. These devices can capture your location data, intercept calls, access SMS data, emails, photo galleries and app data (banking, messaging, games etc.). They are undetectable and capture up to 20 mobiles per setup and have a very large range.

From an individual user’s point of view this is certainly concerning but it is a calculated risk we are willing to take in lieu of substantial conveniences.

From an organisation’s point of view, however, these laptop-sized devices can be set up almost anywhere. They do not need to be inside an office to be able to capture data from the phones used in that company. Now this becomes a risk an organisation cannot afford to take.

Without a robust mobile strategy in place, using your smartphone to do any work is like playing Russian roulette with yourself.

If you think this post was useful, please feel free to forward it along. On the other hand if you thought this was rubbish, make sure to give us a piece of your mind.

I know, I know! It’s that time of the year and I’m not sure what a Valentine’s Day villain is called but like a Grinch equivalent, here I am suggesting break ups. Just hear me out though because I’m not the first and am certainly not going to be the last. Apparently 47 per cent of the couples break it off on this day.

But this is not a ‘how to’ but more a ‘why to’. So let’s see;

1. They are high maintenance
“You get what you pay for.” When it comes to IT support there is no such thing as cheap. In fact, it’s one of those industries where perception is what determines the price. So in most cases, you will not only pay a monthly retainer on a two-year contract but also on top of that, a fairly steep hourly rate for all those special visits from your engineer.

These are times where technical innovations are growing exponentially. This remarkable growth has now put in our hands mobile devices that are far more powerful and can do far more than the super computers from only a few decades ago. But the most amazing thing about these mobile devices is that you don’t need to be a tech whiz to use them. When did you last call Apple, Google or Samsung to figure out how to use your smart phone or its apps?

2. They are boring
You’ll never hear your IT support excitedly announce or recommend a new app or program that will not only starkly improve your existing processes and is self-managed but it will also cost you significantly less if not nothing at all.

Almost everyday a new app, software or program is being developed to help you make your work and life easy. Be adventurous, go out there and have a look. You’ll be amazed at how much fun work can get.

3. You speak different languages
Have you ever tried asking your IT support why your computer or server is doing what it’s doing? Or how to set up something on your PC? What am I saying, who hasn’t? Let me guess, the response is usually a frustrated ‘sigh’ or a full-blown ‘groan’ followed by set of words I often wonder if even they themselves understand.

In this new world of awesome smartphones, tablets, watches, glasses and everything in between (Internet of things), things are made so easy, even toddlers just seem to know what to do. These things don’t even come with a manual. I say, it’s like magic, you just know!

So there it is. Like every great decision, it’s not going to be easy or comfortable but nothing great has ever come out of playing safe.