I got an iPad, Part 3: Business Integration
January 17, 2011
In the third and final chapter in our series about using the iPad effectively in the workplace, we’ll examine some of the ways your iPad can be integrated with existing systems and software. The ability to tie the iPad to systems you already use is perhaps one of the most powerful ways you can leverage the iPad in your business. From Web site statistics to accessing your phone system or even your desktop PC, the iPad has apps to suit your needs.
Remember, you can find the apps listed below in the iTunes store online, using iTunes software on your desktop, or from the “App Store” app on your iPad or iPhone.
Business Integration: Analytics, Switchvox, iTap RDP, Dropbox & Filer
Analytics
If you have a Web site created by SPINEN, you probably have Google Analytics already configured for your site. If you don’t already have access to your Analytics account, contact us and we can help you get started using this powerful tool for analyzing your Web site’s performance (even if you don’t have an iPad!). For those businesses that use their Web sites as integral parts of the overall marketing strategy, constant review of usage data is critical. While you can access Analytics from any Web browser, the Analytics HD app gives you the ability to see your site’s information on your iPad in a well-designed, easy-to-use interface.
Analytics HD includes the dashboard view familiar to Google Analytics users, as well as more than 50 reports, data displayed as charts, and customizable date ranges. While there are several apps available for accessing your Google Analytics account, Analytics HD appears to be one of the better-designed tools available. Whether you’re running an e-commerce site or measuring the success of an advertising campaign, you should be reviewing your Web performance data regularly. For iPad users, Analytics HD is one way to do that easily.
Analytics HD (the iPhone version is called Analytics App) is available for $6.99.
Switchvox
If SPINEN has installed a Digium Switchvox business phone system for you, you may want to take advantage of the Switchvox Mobile app available from Digium. With an old analog-based phone system, about all you could do was call in and check your voicemail. New digital (aka “VoIP”) phone systems add far more features than ever before, and the Switchvox Mobile app allows you to take advantage of those capabilities from wherever you may be – construction site, client’s office, or even a golf course or beach.
Using this app, you can access the company directory, get notifications about new voicemail and access those messages, and manage call rules (for example, if you have a rule to route incoming calls to your mobile phone, you can turn it on from within the app). Don’t want to give clients your mobile number? This app allows you to place a call through your office phone system, so your mobile number does not show up in the caller ID of the person you are calling.
The application is free and works with your Digium Switchvox phone system. Though the app is designed for the iPhone, it will work just fine on your iPad.
Don’t have a Switchvox phone system? The Switchvox Mobile app has a demo mode with sample voicemails, contacts and other data so you can see how it works.
Using iTap RDP with the iPad’s built-in VPN
Many of our clients take advantage of VPN (virtual private networking) to connect to their office networks from home, or from laptops when traveling. VPN technology allows you to access network resources such as shared drives and even printers when out of the office, so that you can virtually take your office with you. Combined with Microsoft’s Remote Desktop software, an employee of your business can be anywhere in the world with Internet access, and connect to his or her own desktop computer at work.
Now you can have that same capability from the iPad. The iPad comes with built-in VPN capability, so all you need to access your work PC from your iPad is a remote desktop app, and that’s where iTap RDP comes in. From any wireless hotspot (or anywhere there is 3G service if your iPad has this capability) you can connect to your business network using VPN and control your PC as if you were sitting in your office.
Of course, you can do the same thing with a laptop, but at 1.5 lbs (vs 5-8 lbs for the average notebook/laptop computer), you’re a lot more likely to have the iPad with you. The app has also incorporated gestures well (movements of your fingers on the touchscreen) so that you won’t miss your mouse after using iTap RDP for only a short while.
iTap RDP is available for both the iPhone and iPad (the iPad’s larger screen makes it easier to use), and costs $11.99.
Dropbox & Filer
The need to transfer large files – movies, CAD files, high resolution photos, large ZIP files – to other people and locations has increased exponentially in the last few years. Email can be used for this purpose up to a point, but there is a practical limit to emailing files as attachments (normal limits are between 10-20 MB). What happens when you need to transfer a 100 MB file to someone, and putting it on a DVD or flash drive is not an option? How to do access your beautiful, full-color sample catalog when you’re in the field without carrying it around on a flash drive?
Moving large files (and keeping them in sync across multiple devices) is what Dropbox is all about. This free service offers 2 GB of secure online storage space (more is available with a paid account). By installing a free application on your computer, you can easily upload files for access anywhere–including from your iPad or any Internet-connected computer. Dropbox offers other nice features such as the ability to place files in a public folder so that others can access them, or to share folders with other Dropbox users.
Filer is an app for the iPhone/iPad that lets you manage, view and share files. The app lets you store files, so you can download them when you have a network connection, and view them when you don’t. Filer works seamlessly with Dropbox to access the files you have stored in Dropbox. The app will also let you open files into other apps such as iBooks, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Have a lot of photos? Images can be viewed as a mini-slideshow to quickly find the photo you want.
Filer is available in two versions, Filer Lite which is free, and the full version of Filer, which adds the ability to create a passcode to protect your files, the ability to email files, and the ability to upload to Dropbox (free version only offers download capability). The full version of Filer is $3.99.
