Research has suggested that the advantages of these tools are now increasingly being felt in the worlds of business and work, with more and more people making the most of apps for commercial and professional purposes.
A survey by Digimax, a specialist web design and marketing agency, found that nearly six out of ten business owners (58 per cent) now work via mobile apps for up to 90 minutes per day. That marks an increase of 35 per cent over the three-year period from 2014 to 2017, smallbusiness.co.uk reported.
One of the big advantages of mobile apps for business owners and employees is the flexibility and universal access they provide. Workers can have guaranteed access to emails or important documents, for example, even if they are away from the office or choosing to take a flexible approach to workspace with short-term leases.
According to the Digimax findings, young entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 24 spend the most time using apps for work.
Email apps remain the most widely used mobile tools of all for business. However, the research also highlighted other increasingly popular options within Apple’s portfolio of 2.2 million apps and Google Play’s 2.8 million applications.
Google Drive has developed into a vital system for file storage, sharing and synchronisation, while Slack has also become a popular app for work team messaging and collaboration. Skype is now a major business communication tool, too.
The research also highlighted the growing significance of business banking apps, as well as LinkedIn, which facilitates networking and relationship-building.
These technologies are playing an important role in enabling business growth, flexibility and innovation, even though mobile isn’t yet ready to overtake the laptop and PC for everyday business use, according to Digimax.
Shaz Memon, creative director at the firm, said: “There is still a little way to go, but if technology continues to develop at the rate that it has been – and I can see no reason why it would not – apps will soon allow the smartphone to take the place of the computer and become the primary business tool of professionals.
“It took business a short while to switch on to the potential of the app, but with big names such as Google investing heavily in business app development, advances are now coming thick and fast.”
There are clear benefits to be gained from mobile innovations and apps, but it has also been suggested that business leaders and workers need to take a considered approach to tech tools in order to maintain efficiency and secure a good work-life balance.
A survey by CV-Library found that nearly six out of ten people (56 per cent) use smartphones while they are at work, but 80 per cent don’t use technology for personal tasks during work hours.
Two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents said they avoid social media at work, and of those who do check their Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and the like, 45 per cent limit their time spent on these apps to 15 minutes.
Apps are an increasingly important part of how many modern companies function, research has suggested.
Posted by Julie Tucker
Image courtesy of iStock/scyther5
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