More than two-thirds of Americans have smartphones and spend more time using them than their computers, Engadget reports. Smartphones have altered nearly every aspect of our personal lives, and it is no different for businesses. Here are some ways that the explosion of smartphone usage is shaping the business world today:
Making Communication Easier
Since their inception, mobile phones have provided users with the ability to make instantaneous calls from nearly anywhere in the world. The sheer volume of communication is hard to process; according to research by Forrester, more than six billion SMS messages are sent every single day in the United States alone. This has created a world of instant responses, allowing businesses to operate at speeds that would have been considered science fiction just 20 years ago.
The popularity of face-to-face communication apps like Skype mean that everything from conferences to customer service can be a personal conversation, regardless of where you are. Using software such as Skype, FaceTime and other conferencing apps enable you to coordinate in-office and telecommuting employees easily. These advancements continue to shape not only the way we do business, but customer expectations, as well.
The Portable Office
As fast as smartphones are now, tomorrow’s devices will be even more powerful. The Verge reports the ARM Cortex-A15 processor being manufactured for tomorrow’s smartphones will have three times the processing power of today’s smartphone chips. And with new designs like the LG G Flex with its high resolution curved screen, smartphones are capable of multitasking for presentations, conferencing and more. And the wide variety of apps available for them mean that there is an app for every need. Smartphones have all but replaced the role of personal assistants when it comes to organizing information about meetings, deadlines, emails, and bills, and now nearly everyone has one.
Phone-Tablet hybrids, or “phablets,” combine many of the best features of modern mobile devices and may very well replace smartphones and desktop computers as the device for conducting business on the go. Implementing Bring Your Own Device policies in your workplace will allow you to tap into your employees pre-existing devices to expand your businesses technical capabilities exponentially.
App Marketing
Smartphones are available at inexpensive rates that make them accessible to everyone. This has lead to an explosion of social media and gaming for smartphones that shapes business today. It has even created a huge niche industry; according to the current iTunes charts, half of the top 10 most downloaded pay apps in the iTunes store are games.
Game app development is the next huge trend in business. By developing free game apps that serve as advertising, like McDonald’s “McPlay” app, companies can create brand appeal that users will carry with them everywhere they go. More people are gaming than ever before, and free gaming apps allow companies to reach consumers with advertisements while they play.
