Insight

Apps - August 2013

This month we get to the heart of the business apps available on the market. These are Mobile Business Top Picks for 2013 and everyone should be able to find something in here to help their business life in some way. From simple note taking to managing your BYOD security, Mobile Business takes a look at the app landscape.

eFax

For those clients that haven’t joined 2013 quite yet the eFax iPad app makes it simple to send and receive faxes from your iPad or iPhone losing very little in the transition from desktop to mobile. A free account lets you receive (not send) a handful of faxes, but upgrading to a Plus or Pro account opens the door to faxing freedom. Available on iOS

Priority Matrix 2.0 

This is a time-management tool that lets business-minded users visually organise lists, agendas, and priorities by colour and labels. You can also set target dates, keep pros and cons lists, and perform many other valuable productivity tasks. Available on iOS and Windows

iSimplyConnect

Small businesses that want an iPad VPN solution should consider iSimplyConnect, which is fast, easy to deploy, and quite affordable. Businesses can ensure their iPad-wealding employees are protected when accessing applications and servers behind the work firewall. The app forces the iPad to establish a Virtual Private Network tunnel when connecting to certain resources and Websites. $15 per month (up to three users) for both iPad and iPhone. Available on iOS

Umbrella 

Worry about all the devices in your company? What security do you have in place to stop devices getting hacked and worse still, an infected device causing havoc once back in the office? IT administrators can use Umbrella to apply security policies and push out anti-malware and anti-phishing protection on all devices on the wireless network to protect users from potential threats. Location doesn’t matter; once the administrator defines and applies a security policy on the device, that device is protected as long as it is connected to the Internet. Available on iOS

Note Taker HD – Editors Pick

This is a great note taking tool that does the job thoroughly, without breaking the bank (£2.99). Packing plenty of note-taking options many may be daunted by the options available here. Plus the ability to import PDFs and insert and crop photos, Note Taker HD is an excellent note-taking iPad app. When utilised properly this will change the way you make notes forever. Available on iOS

Line2

Line 2 brings carrier-grade calling and texting to your iPad by giving you a second line with a real number. Whether for a business or organisation, as a landline replacement, or simply to keep your mobile phone number private, Line2 is a solid choice for professionals and people who don’t want to miss important calls. Free to download but the standard plan starts at £6.99 a month. Available on iOS

OfficeTime

Need to record billable hours? This useful little app will record your hours as you work and generates invoices and reports based on that data. This is a small business owner’s best friend, because it’s cheap, highly useful, and downright practical. Take one more hassle out of your business to let you focus on the important stuff. Available on iO

Quickbooks Online

With QuickBooks Online, business owners can manage customers, sales receipts, payments, estimates and email invoices. This is a great app to use to help manage your small business. Make sure to take advantage of the 30-day free trial. Other features include viewing & editing customer accounts from mobile CRM, managing outstanding customer balances and efficient accounting and bookkeeping. Available on Android