The last number of years has seen an explosion in the adoption of smartphones devices such as the Blackberry, Windows Mobile devices and, more recently, the iPhone.

As these devices become increasing popular, both for personal and business use, companies need to be asking themselves how they can take advantage of this mobile revolution.

While mobile technologies and their applications are still evolving, there are already many opportunities to exploit these technologies in order to better communicate with customers, vendors and employees.

Each new generation of smartphones comes with a myriad of new features. The means to communicate electronically on these devices seems almost endless and now includes traditional email, text messaging, instant messaging, mobile messaging and pinning.

The Internet browsers included with these devices resemble ever more closely the browsers used on personal computers. (The absence of a keyboard allows Apple’s iPhone to have a screen that is large enough to allow users to comfortably browse most web sites.)

These devices now allow users to open and even edit Microsoft Office files including Excel spreadsheets, Word documents and PowerPoint presentations (although the screen size can make this somewhat frustrating). While this can be less than cost-effective due to the bandwidth required to download these files, the iPhone’s browsing capabilities have forced wireless carriers to suddenly provide far more bandwidth at a far lower cost.

Traditional cell phones and PDA’s are also being packed with more and more bells and whistles, including text messaging and Internet browsers, and are starting to resemble smartphones with their breadth of features.

While most users still use smartphones primarily for phone, email and text messaging, as these other capabilities continue to evolve and improve, their usage will only continue to grow. The adoption of many of these technologies is approaching a tipping point where they will soon become as popular as the more traditional applications.

The explosion of mobile devices and the continuous expansion and improvement of wireless networks is creating an expectation of information being available anywhere, anytime.

They say that information is power. Leading-edge companies that can provide the right information to the right people in a timely manner can harness this power and use it to grow and become more profitable.

Companies that realize this early and provide vital information to customers, suppliers and employees even before they ask for it can create a level of service and customer satisfaction that will quickly and effectively set themselves apart from their competition.


Datapro Technology Solutions is an IT consulting firm that helps small and medium-sized businesses get the most from their investments in technology.

To find out more about the services we provide and how we might be able to help your business, visit our web site at dataproforbusiness.com or give us a call at 416-977-1991.