Monday, March 18, 2013

business apps for ipads - vodaphone presentation


A day for catching up with tools to enhance teaching and learning. After lunch, attended a vodaphone sponsored session on Ipads for business.
Presentation began with news on launch of 4G to NZ. Now available in Auckland and arriving to Christchurch in June. Focus of the event is on maximising the mobility of businesses using tablets. Monique and Rick presented. 
Video to begin with  American case studies - JacksonKayaks- of businesses using ipads to improve productivity, sales, manufacturing, marketing and design. Adoption of mobilisation still requires planning and development. Smart devices out sold PCs in 2009. In Oct. To Dec. 2012, 23 million I pads were sold! More than all categories of PC's sold. Therefore, we are in post-PC era.

To mobilise business processes, need to evaluate systems, processes and roles. Ideas of where to start form base of presentation. The key core business processes include Email calendar contacts, document management, customer info. Human resources, ordering and stocks, dashboards, training and financial systems. Mobilizing of all of the core processes now possible.

Traction in large businesses on way to already mobilised. 94% in USA. If any of the following exist,
Paper based processes a good way to start. Job roles where laptops are already issued. Back to office requirements - replaced by mobile access and interaction. Attachments shifted to real time dynamics.
Eliminating or reducing time delays.Siloed data not shared. Profligation of hardware, costs savings through consolidatiin to one device.Collateral that can be more accessible.If just one worked on to produce cost savings or increase productive. Apps need to be chosen to match the business needs.

Examples include dropbox or share plus for document sharing. Streamtime HD and Sao business editors for customer info. Hand base or fikemaker go for stock control. Micro strategy and roanvi anaytics visualiser for dashboards. Ibooks and Vmobilearn HD for training. Imvoice2go and pocketcloud for financial systems.
Important for companies to work out which business process to mobilise, which one will have most impact for effort and resources put in?

Other apps include
Presentations with keynote
Documents with documents to go, smartoffice, expert pdf
Expenses with expensify,
collaboration with gotomeeting 
Note taking with evernote, skitch,
Travel support with trip it and Itranslate.

Fundamental difference between applications on PC and apps on mobile device is specificness of apps. Might need to use a few apps to do a task usually carried on one PC application. Apps cna be individual, integrated with organisation or customised. Check app store for apps status if it is trusted, intuitive or validated.
Demonstrated evernote bringing various note types into evernte folders so that they are accesible from one space and is searchable. Also can be shared or handed to other people reducing effects of silos. Ever note hello takes a photo of business card and transfer to contacts. Then find people and network via linked in. Ever note trunk provides info. on other apps to form networks with - e.g. linkedin.

Peek works with the Ipad cover for doing questions and answers. Pdfexpert for filling in pre-formated forms. Trip it allows upload your ticket and summarises all the details. Flipboard as an RSS feeder in the form of images.

Examples of xero for setting out quotes, invoices and tracking jobs and vend for mobile transactions. Download podcasts using podcast app. Discovr app to find apps bringing up better matches than through appstore. In appstore use app collections to narrow down useful apps. Examples being apps at work or business starter.

Overall, presentation pitched at businesses trying to leverage mobilisation without incurring huge costs for customised software. Consolidation apps like evernote are the key to bringing apps together, for instance in education, to collect multimodal learning evidence using a variety of apps, store and collate into eportfolios or similar.


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