Once, there was a smartphone that dominated the mobile market due to its appeal to companies as a facilitator of work. Due to its high-class business association, it also caught on as a personal-use phone that offered the user a certain degree of prestige. However, the rise and fall of the BlackBerry is well-documented, despite the work-centric device once being seen as a necessity.
BlackBerry devices certainly helped companies realise the potential of their staff all having connected devices that they could not just have on them at all times, but also relay extended and essential messages. While its market share has been at 0 per cent since April 2015, the impact that the BlackBerry has had on everyday work life is still evident today.
Now, the ‘Bring Your Own’ policy to mobiles has allowed more app developers to weigh into the debate and present new, innovative solutions to businesses and their employees. From communications to organisation, leading apps have become crucial to work performance, further emphasising the importance of mobiles in business despite the decline of the BlackBerry.
BlackBerry devices championed secure and fast communications through their closed network and conversation portals. Now that technology has improved a great deal, particularly regarding the strength of accessible internet and smartphones, instant messaging isn’t the epitome of communication any more. For the necessary face-to-face, instant discussions needed in work that connect people, video chat has become the prime solution.
Video chat apps have gone from a pleasant and alternate way for everyday people to contact family and friends to becoming integrated into peoples’ work lives. As many businesses have personnel spread all over the world and more people working remotely, video chat allows for office-like conversations and meetings if the app is good enough. According to the comprehensive ratings provider, the best video chat app for this is currently Zoom. Its call encryption and catering to video conference calls makes it a necessary app for just about everyone to have on their phone.
Organisation apps were popularised by the comprehensive selection released alongside the pioneering iPad way back in 2010. Being able to sort tasks, input completed segments, follow the progress of others, and organise whole team projects is crucial to business, with primed apps now offering an enhanced way to do so away from a whiteboard.
There are many great project management apps, each offering something slightly different, but perhaps the most accessible and useful for task management is Asana. The top mobile projects app is available across Apple, Android, and desktop. It’s easy to navigate the app, establish teams, create tasks, add instructions and attachments, and the app automatically sends update emails to relevant parties as well as daily updates that detail overall progress.
Since the iconic BlackBerry faded from relevance, mobiles have become even more integral to work thanks to the quality of the apps being developed for the leading operating systems. As it stands, the video conference app Zoom and project management app Asana present themselves as leading solutions.
