The modern office only resembles the office of the past. Sure there are still desks and chairs and cork boards hanging on the walls. There are still printers, copiers, and maybe even a fax machine (although many times nowadays all of those tasks are handled by the same machine). The differences, though often understated, are prevalent; with advancements in technology being the most noteworthy change. The most evident of which, is the widespread use of employee-owned mobile devices.

Your typical company executive is not a master in technological logistics. Many of them defer to people that have some semblance of an idea about those types of things. What concerns many companies is that they can’t afford to dedicate an employee to the development of a mobile strategy. There are also considerations that have to be made regarding the security of your mobile platforms, and whether or not your organization will be promoting employees to use their own mobile devices on your company network.

If building mobility has become a priority for your company, there are many applications that are available on the three major mobile platforms. Two of which are:

Calendar
Every platform has an integrated calendar program and all three present an opportunity to keep you in the know about important events. All three of them sync up to a central account, the two most popular are Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Outlook. Each device, including the devices running iOS, can integrate their calendar with the mail account they use most. To use your calendar most effectively, you will have to utilize the sync feature made available by your device’s operating system. Follow the instructions on the corresponding pages to sync your smartphone calendar with your account.

• Android
• iOS
• Windows Phone 8.1

Once that’s done, you can begin to get the most out of your device. By keeping a dedicated and up-to-date calendar, you can begin to take advantage of the mobility that the smartphone promises.

Note-Taking Apps
There are literally dozens of note capturing applications on the various app stores. Three of the best ones are Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, and Google Keep. Obviously OneNote will come standard on Windows 8.1 Phones and Google Keep will come standard on Android, but Apple device users will have to download one. The most popular one, for good reason, is Evernote. These apps mostly do the same thing: They allow users to jot down information, capture screenshots, and record audio to make it easier for people that have to juggle tasks and manage time to complete tasks properly.

Controlling All of the Data
As a business owner, you need to be ahead of the game before your employees start piecemealing solutions together. If you don’t have a calendar in place for your business, for example, a staff member might take it upon themselves to throw something together. This isn’t a bad thing until you realize you have different applications and workflows being done all throughout the organization with no standardization or documented process.

By researching and committing to a solution, you can take steps to deploy it for all employees, allowing you to control where your data is and what happens to it when someone leaves the company. You don’t need to handle this on your own. You can rely on your account manager at Argentum IT for consultation.

It is obvious that the number one device that a company can use to push their initiatives forward is the smartphone. The smartphone is such a productivity tool (and security threat) that as a part of a company’s mobile device management policy, a company will be absolutely forced to make a decision on the use of employee smartphones on the network, known as a BYOD strategy. If your organization needs a whole strategy to manage an element of your business, it is likely pretty important. Having a dedicated policy in regard to your staff’s mobile use can go a long way in securing your network from the potentially malicious threats that can be brought in by foreign smartphones.

To hear from Kentucky and Southern Indiana’s most insightful technology consultants, call us at (502) 473-6407 today.