Mobile productivity and line-of-business applications

One of the main advantages of having a Windows Mobile phone is the rich array of productivity applications that are available to help you get more done and stay organized wherever business takes you. More and more, people have jobs that take them out of the office, and you are probably part of this trend. According to the Yankee Group’s report “Anywhere Enterprise—SMB: 2007 European Fixed-Mobile Convergence Survey,” 42 percent of the small and medium-sized business workforce spends more than 20 percent of their time away from their desks. Imagine how you could turn downtime into productive time by having access to a host of mobile applications tailored to your business and life.

I’m sure you can think of several tasks or activities—in addition to getting e-mail on the go—that you’d like to be able to do without having to wait until you return to home base. Need to track your time for billing just after you get off a call? Want to track your expenditures for your expense report the moment you get the receipts? Need quick directions to your next appointment? Want to find the closest coffee shop or the best price on fuel? What if you had access to real-time stock prices? Or access to medical or legal references at your fingertips? Imagine doing all of this while having to carry just one device.

Given the widespread availability of broadband networks plus phones and devices that are increasingly capable of running sophisticated applications, there are more and more opportunities for business people to extend the reach of their personal and business productivity with general and industry-specific applications. In this article, we’ll explore three basic types of mobile productivity applications that you should consider:

Personally, I can’t imagine leaving my office without my “Office”—my Microsoft Office Mobile applications, that is. On any given day, I might add data to a spreadsheet in Microsoft Office Excel Mobile, write or edit a Word Mobile document, or review a presentation in PowerPoint Mobile. I usually store files on my phone so I can bring them with me and I also often receive files as attachments in e-mail—in either case, formatting remains intact when I access the files on my phone.

The functionality of Microsoft Office Mobile applications differs slightly depending on whether you’re using a touch screen or a non-touch screen phone, but the familiarity of the Microsoft Office interface makes it easy for you to adapt to Office Mobile.

Depending on when you purchased your Windows Mobile phone, you may need to obtain the free Microsoft Mobile Office Upgrade to view and edit 2007 Microsoft Office files on your phone or device.

Depending on your line of business, you can find specialty applications that will make it easier for you to be more responsive to customers and access pertinent information at the point of need. Here are some examples of how different professionals rely on their Windows Mobile phones and certified software to do their jobs.

To deliver quality care, health practitioners (doctors, nurses, paramedics, and medical students) need immediate access to accurate, up-to-date healthcare knowledge resources, including those on diseases, diagnoses, and drug interactions. They can use that same phone or device to capture their dictations.

Consultants and attorneys need to respond rapidly to client needs and to be able to efficiently and accurately track time spent on each client. Further, law professionals need quick access to legal precedents and other resource materials when they are out of the office. Not only can a Windows Mobile phone help you be more productive, you can also capture billable time during what would otherwise be downtime.

Real estate agents and mortgage brokers spend their time in the field prospecting, listing, and selling properties. Real estate professionals need to access and compare listings in real time and manage lock boxes from their mobile phones, rather than waste time going back to the office.

Stockbrokers, traders, financial advisors, and insurance professionals need timely access to financial data, economic event alerts, and client data; they also need to be able to do business when not at their desk on any given day.

Some Windows Mobile applications are relevant to many different types of businesses. For example, sales people use their Windows Mobile phones to view inventory information in real time, provide a quote, and create customer orders or invoices on the spot. Field force employees may need to access manufacturer’s information or escalate a support issue while they are out on a call. Most mobile professionals need to track their time, mileage, and expenses.

I’ve found several of the Windows Live services very useful for keeping connected to people that matter to me and finding information quickly with my Windows Mobile phone. If you have a data plan, you can take advantage of the array of Windows Live services available over the Internet. The list of services includes Windows Live Spaces, MSN Mobile, SMS Services, Live Search, Local Search, Windows Live Messenger, and Windows Live Hotmail. Read a summary of the Windows Live services or point your mobile browser to http://m.live.com.

Of course, most mobile professionals at some point need directions. Perhaps it’s the location of a meeting with a client, or a good place across town for Thai food, or directions to the nearest gas station. Now, it’s true that not everyone wants to stop and ask for directions, and that’s where a Windows Mobile phone and Live Search and Local Search really come in handy. Before you drive—and possibly lose time by losing your way—you can get listings of businesses, detailed maps with zoom features, and turn-by-turn directions to take you door to door.

If you’re at all like me, you want applications that are easy to purchase and easy to install, either over the air onto the phone or to download to a computer and then transfer to the phone or device. If your business is large enough to have an IT specialist, then you want to be sure applications are easy to deploy without spending time on back-end integration. We all want applications that are easy to use without major customization.

Before I buy, I always check out the support options: Do they offer call center support, online chats, conversations with automated natural language agents, e-mail support, an active community forum, or just Knowledge Base articles? If they offer e-mail support, do they publish a service level agreement (SLA) that spells out their response time-frame?