25 November 2011 by Mike
Access to information and freedom are the two overriding
benefits I believe mobile technology has bought to people running
their businesses.
The average business owner is now better informed than ever
before - they can access anything from their cashflow, sales,
customer support or pitches, wherever they are.
This has totally freed up the way we work. Location and travel no
longer hinder businesses - in fact, they can become advantages. At
the same time technology has advanced and become more affordable,
so has travel. We can now move travel quickly and cheaply
throughout Europe (and further afield) and be as fully connected as
if we were in the office.
I won't go anywhere without my smartphone. I can't. It's part of my
essentials checklist: keys, passport, wallet, smartphone. If I've
got my smartphone I know I can manage to do almost anything because
I can reach pretty much everything. Social media is very important
to me so I need to be able to access all my accounts in a way
that's simple to use, and I use apps that make my life easier or
save me time and money. For instance, I'm always on the move so
catch meals as and when I can, but usually lose one or two receipts
a month - but there's an app I use called XPNSD that lets me photo
my receipts and automatically adds it to my expenses.
The opportunity is far more powerful for others. There's no reason
you can't run a full e-commerce operation from your mobile,
managing the site, your accounts and communicating to your
customers. The cloud gives us access to all of this on the go,
opening huge opportunities for businesses to improve productivity
and change the way they work - they just need to open their minds
to it.
Given that a smartphone is essentially a mini computer and most
employees have their own computer, I simply don't understand
companies that don't arm their staff with smartphones. OK, there's
a cost associated but the benefits of giving your staff to the
tools they need to trade effectively should easily out weight the
outlay.
The smartest companies see this and are also working
collaboratively together - from anywhere in the world - to solve
common objectives. Mobile technology is bringing the smart players
together and I think we'll definitely see more collaboration
between smaller companies in the future.
Make sure you have a device that gives you the freedom to access
the information you need anytime (and anywhere) you need it.
For more information about Maz Nadjm visit his blog.
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