Using the right mobile technology can make your working life easier. Here’s some top tips to help you make the most of it.

Mobile technology has continued to change the way we do business, leaving many business owners wondering how they can use it more effectively.

“These days, choosing a device is relatively straightforward with the majority opting for a smart phone and some kind of tablet,” says Megan Iemma, Chief Executive Officer of Tech Coach HQ. “I’d recommend that you stick to one platform. That way you won’t have to learn two different operating systems, and you’ll also find it easier to link one device to the other.”

Using the devices can be almost as complicated as the technology itself.

“Many of the business owners I talk to feel overwhelmed by the number of applications (apps) they have to choose from and the speed with which they’re changing,” says Iemma. “They’re worried that they’re not keeping up.”

But the key reason a business should use new technology is to make life easier. “You don’t need to know everything – just what will be of value to you,” Iemma continues. “And, to establish that, just take a close look at your working day. Think about what you do, break the tasks down into micro steps and see how technology can help you to do each step more efficiently, or to save time by replacing 10 steps with three or four.

“For example, if you spend a lot of time on the road you can access a central server via a remote server such as Google Drive or Drop Box, so you won’t need to ask someone back at the office to send you a file. And apps like Cloud On let you edit a Microsoft document when you’re on the move, so you won’t need to keep going back to the office.”

App directories, websites and magazines that review apps regularly can help you find the ones that will be most useful. And, while recommendations can also be useful, you may find what works well for friends and colleagues won’t necessarily work well for you.

So what does Iemma recommend? Only download one app per week and take the time to practice using it so you’re familiar with everything it can do. Then, on a regular basis, clean out the apps that you don’t use and backup or update the ones you do.

“I tell my clients that the most important thing is to take technology one ‘byte’ at a time,” she says. “That’s the key to feeling in control of technology and making the most of what it can do for you and your business.”

Megan Iemma’s top four apps for business

1. Evernote for note taking, file management and scanning business cards
2. Cloud On for editing Microsoft Office documents via DropBox and Google Drive
3. Notability or GoodReader for annotating PDFs
4. JotNot Scanner Pro for scanning documents

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