10 apps to turn your smartphone into a mobile office

The best part of the arrival and the rise of mobile devices into our lives is that mobility and the digital world available to us to improve our quality of life with apps for health for example or entertain us while we learn. But we can also take advantage of mobile devices and turn your smartphone into a mobile office.

How can we achieve that? Surely you’ve noticed that many managers and entrepreneurs spend the day glued to a laptop, a tablet, or smartphones. That’s because you can manage your business and make the most of your day job from these mobile devices. Just transform your office into a space ‘mobile’ and online. This is no easy task at first because changing all the working method you are currently using to convert it to digital will take time. But by introducing some mobile applications and doing it gradually you will have time to get used to the new way of doing things.

Advantages to turn your smartphone into mobile office Surely you are wondering: why is it better to have a mobile office? Why do I have to change my way of doing things? First of all, you only have to make this change if desired and think if it will be beneficial for your company and business. But think of all the benefits this change can bring you:

• Freedom of movement:turning your smartphone into a mobile office will allow you to be free to move. That means, you can work from anywhere, while on public transport, from home, from your physical office or any cafe. Your office is wherever you are, that’s why dozens of companies opt for mobility.
• Work from anywhere:working with mobile applications often allow you to have access from other devices, mobile or not, is another advantage of a mobile office. So to be clear, work in the cloud is basic and is another advantage of this change.
• Time availability:you will have a greater willingness to work outside normal hours. Especially now that the schedules are distorted and that we must be available at any time for international business.
• Easier when searching and storing documents:Not having any paper document (only the strictly necessary) will make it easier to find documents just by searching the device. Similarly it will be cleaner and take up much less space than physical documents, which require more care and organization and storage space.
• Cost reduction:the previous point appears to be a reduction in the cost of office expenses.

Best apps to turn your smartphone into a mobile office For all these reasons, we have compiled a list of the best mobile applications that will help you turn your smartphone into a mobile office, with which you can work from and whenever you want. From applications to scan documents up to make banking transactions without stepping on the bench. Here they are!

Apps for scanning

Scan documents that you need to mail or saved as a file in your database. The truth is that you can’t always have a scanner or a printer at hand. You always need it when you least expect it, so why not have one always in your pocket.

1.Cam Scanner: It is an application that we have already recommend on our list of the best mobile apps of 2014, because it is good for scanning documents. With it you can edit the image itself from the app to adjust the size and colour and other image parameters and even send it to yourself, .doc or .pdf, or send it to any recipient.

Available for Android and iOS

2.Evernote Scannable: This is a relatively new application but since its launch it has been raised as one of the best apps for scanning documents from your iPhone. With this app a capture with the camera is not done, it is the device itself which detects the documents in a few steps, whether a business card, bill, etc. the biggest news regarding Cam Scanner is that it is compatible with a long list of cloud storage applications . A very valid option if you want to turn your smartphone into a mobile office level.

Available for iOS

Apps for editing and reading documents

One of the key features you’ll need for your mobile office is to read, edit and create documents from your smartphone or tablet. Even to access documents that you create from the laptop, you’ll always need to access from mobile devices to view or edit some data. In these cases we recommend that you work in the cloud, there is much more to do, in fact we will see some tools later, that are focused on online document editing with top apps.

3.Drive: This tool developed by Google as a complement to your Gmail account lets you create a community cloud. Here you can create, edit, comment, view and share documents, tables of contents, presentations, images, etc. The possibilities are endless. The only downside is that to check from mobile devices you have to download an app, which occupies little space in the terminal, but if you want to make changes then you will need to download an additional app which is a bit heavier. Still works great on tablets and smartphones.

Available for Android and iOS

Apps for conferences

In an increasingly globalized world in which you need to keep in touch with our customers, suppliers, colleagues, etc. is essential to have an open line of communication at any time. Desktop applications like Skype and Hangouts are advocating for their mobile versions, because they know the benefits of having an app for your business. They know as well as we do that we need these videoconferencing, because phone calls are not the same, to keep in touch. Therefore we suggest that you download those two applications on your smartphone to turn your office into a mobile office.

4.Hangouts: The perfect complement to your Gmail account and Drive to edit documents online. The only drawback I find is that not everyone has a Gmail account, but prefer to use other mailing servers, so you cannot expect everyone to use Hangouts. For this we propose the following option.

Available for Android and iOS

5.Skype: it’s the most known option for videoconferencing, and is also the most widely used internationally. Topping the list of applications in video calling for decades in desktop computers. The truth is that it has come late to mobile devices but in the last year has improved the product and a Wi-Fi connection works as well as in its desktop version. In this case it is easier for our customers and suppliers to have a Skype account, so make sure to have this app as it will definitely be successful.

Available for all devices

Apps for banking

It all depends on which bank you are with, obviously, but most of them have their own applications from which you can consult your accounts and make transfers and payments. Come on, you can manage your money in private accounts and business, without having to go to the branch without having to stand in long queues. Therefore it is essential that you get a hold of your banking app and ask for the identification keys in your bank. Although it is true that there are some apps that are better than others. Banks with best apps for mobile and to make arrangements from your smartphone are La Caixa and BBVA. On the other hand, if you want an app to make payments on your phone and then go for m-commerce apps, you can find many in the last article we wrote about payment methods online and mobile applications.

6.Flashiz: Yes, in this case we recommend Flashiz because this application wants to become the new “universal mobile payment”. With it you can pay with mobile not only in online stores but in physical stores. Unlike other, is not a simple card register, but is defined as a financial institution payment via smartphone.

Available for Android, iOS and Blackberry

Launchers for your smartphone

You know what a launcher is? Maybe you know it, but just in case we will summarize it:  change and adapt the operation of your mobile device for easy access to features. It is useful to turn your smartphone into a mobile office because you will access easily and quickly to the applications you use most. We present these two star apps depending on whether you are using Android or iOS.

7.Yahoo Aviate: This is the app launcher star to Android devices. What’s good is that this launcher is adapted to the context, either in terms of our activities (work, street, house, sports …) or the time of day, as you want to configure. It has been so popular that it has recently been acquired by Yahoo.

Available for Android

8.Aviate Launcher: In case you have a device with Cupertino’s operating system, apps like Launcher or Quick-Tap that were leaders in download have been removed from the apple store. Alternatively we bring Launcher Aviate a similar app to the yahoo Aviate for Android, but adapted to iOS. It is a paid app, it costs € 2.99. It has many functions and allows you to change the appearance of your iOS device and shortcuts, shortcuts to tens of functionality (calls, open your favourite web, send and read mails, and more). It is very new, so probably we will find improvements in future versions.

Available for iOS

Apps for cloud storage

As I have already said before in the case of Drive, saving documents in the cloud is key to turning your smartphone into a mobile office, so in this top 10 apps make the change into a mobile office we thought it was essential to have at least two mobile apps, Dropbox and Box, which allow you to access all your documents stored in the cloud from your devices and are compatible with all your mobile devices and computers in office or at home. Although there are other good choices as Azure, excellent for working in the cloud if you work in the development of mobile applications.

9.Dropbox: Dropbox has historically been one of the most famous and the first tool to offer storing documents in the cloud, create shared folders, etc. You have a 2G storage space on the free version but you can expand by paying a subscription. There is also a version aimed at businesses, although its most potential use is personal. Remarkable for its high level of security, and of course it’s paid.

Available for Android, iOS, Blackberry and Kindle fire

10.Box: With this application is almost the same situation but provides an initial and free storage of 10G, much higher than Dropbox and offers more variety of price plans with those who need to get more space and extra features.

Available for Android, iOS, Blackberry and Windows

Remember that your option to choose will always have to do with the size of your company, your daily needs and the price you’re willing to pay. It will not be the same if you want to transform the office of a start-up formed by 3 people that a large company where files are upload continually by over 30 people. Similarly there are many more mobile applications that can perform these functions, we have just stated the ones that we consider useful and which work best, but remember that they may have other tools that work great for you.

So … Do you know any that should be on this list and that we have forgot about? Tell us on our social networks! And if there isn’t you can always create your own mobile app, you just have to post your project app.