Research project: Smartphones in Business{0}
Business by Smartphone
Smartphones are taking the business world by storm. Every businessperson today has the ability to check, monitor, and receive instant updates about their business by touching the screen of their phone. The most popular smartphones that you see on the market today are the Blackberry and iPhone. Both have similar capabilities and functions, but differ in the way they can be applied to business. Blackberry has its advantages in business due to the different type of software it uses. Microsoft is the producer of this technology and with its strong security and synchronizing abilities, many businesses chose this phone. Apple on the other hand has a larger share of the non-business market, but has its potential and functions for business as well. With comparable 3G networks, both companies are on the cutting edge of revolutionizing business. Smartphones allow individuals to work on the go and have every bit of information they need at the swift move of a finger.
The ability to buy and create applications to suit each users needs, smartphones are beginning to transform the way business is conducted forever. Many phone companies allow people and business to create personalized applications to suit their needs. For example, Break Down Way, a guitar lesson learning application, allows people to download the application and immediately access thousands of different lessons from their iPhone. The creator of this application, David Wolf, plans to give people a free sample of his application so that people can see the advantages of learning guitar without an actual instructor. Subscribers of the application can view and study different lessons by various artists such as Jorma Kaukonen from Jefferson Airplane and Michael Falzarano from Hot Tuna. While Wolf awaits his application approval from apple, he hopes to join the application buying frenzy and stay in touch with the vast expanding possibilities of technology.
These technological advances of Smartphones and applications are affecting the business world at an alarming rate. Business are now using the capabilities of their smartphones and developing ways that increase the efficiency of their operation and communication. Now business people are able to access more personal information than every just by accessing their handheld phone. This allows employees and executives to closer manage and monitor their operations and find problems as soon as they occur. The integration of Smartphones into business would not be possible if it wasn’t for the application creating software that allows businesses to construct, test, and use applications that are solely created for their particular use. These types of applications are beneficial to large and small business, but give small business the ability to do things that only large operations were able to do before. Simple applications not only allow companies to improve internal operations and communication, but more important with the customer. Many companies have application that allows customers to view their accounts, inventories, sales, and much more from the creative application that the company created. These applications allow customers to stay informed and up to date with current news and information from their Smartphone.
According to an online source, “Apple sold 1.5 billion apps during the App Store’s first year and 5.2 million iPhones during the company’s fiscal third quarter”(Ransom 2009). The application and smart phone craze is catching on so rapidly for many reasons. Individuals want to have all of their information at the touch of their fingers, and all of those who refuse to conform to the consumers want and needs, they will have an insecure future compared to those who jump on the application/smartphone bandwagon. Technology is transforming the way we live our lives every single day. In business and in our every day lives, Smartphones are rapidly finding new and clever ways to keep us informed and connected to the world at all times. The future only holds more possibilities for the Smartphone’s capabilities and only time will tell how well it will all work. Business is imminently being transformed to adapt to the times, it is up to each business to keep on the cutting edge of consumer wants and needs so that they can become sustainable throughout the future.
Resources:
Jason Hiner. “Sanity check: Five upgrades that make the iPhone 3G enterprise-ready”. July 11th, 2008. http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=781&tag=content;leftCol
DIANA RANSOM. Smartphone Apps Fuel Business. August 20 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125071635069144197.html