The smart way to do business

PDA-style mobile phones could replace the laptop in future as the ultimate business tool for professionals on the move.

Many of us have felt tied to our desk or home to make sure we don't miss that important e-mail or phone call and to maintain convenient access to essential data – documents, proposals, schedules, contact information, business news or the stock market. Today, however, thousands have newfound freedom thanks to PDA-style smartphones designed for business. They can be a blessing to many on the move meaning they are always connected to their workplace or home.

The smartphone traces its roots back to the personal digital assistant or PDA. Originally used as the businessperson's right hand to track important client information, project statuses, and task lists, smartphones have now become phones that offer the features you need to manage the myriad details of your life. This could include scheduling business meetings, responding to e-mails, tracking family's schedule, reading e-mail, or surfing the web for information as varied as the latest political news or the best airline rates to a vacation destination.

Many smartphones allow users to sync with their desktop or laptop computers and thereby store, view, and work on documents directly on their phones. They can also receive and respond to e-mails as they arrive in their inbox on their computers with real-time
push email.

Sajida Sheikh, General Manager-Marketing of Dulsco, says, "I get all the e-mails coming to my laptop on my phone also including attachments that I can view by scrolling.

"Even when I am out of the country I can access e-mails and the worldwide web at my convenience. It is a wonderful thing to be able to know what is happening in the office even if I am not around physically or if I have not taken my laptop with me. I think it is a boon for all managers of businesses to have a hand on the pulse of the business always!"

All the managers in Dulsco — one of the oldest manpower supply companies in the UAE — have been using a BlackBerry Pearl for about a year now and are therefore connected to the office at all times. Many organisations have set up dedicated servers to enable Blackberry and similar devices to always connect important personnel to the office.

Vandana Rupani, Middle East Counsel at an international law firm in Dubai uses her BlackBerry to keep in touch with her office and work-related issues. The phone has not replaced her laptop but she receives all her official e-mails on it even when she is out of the office and country.

High-end smartphones from manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, HTC and others also come with several capabilities. V P Krishna Kumar, Deputy Vice President of Dish TV for Southern India, uses a Nokia to receive all his official as well as private e-mails.

He also stores pictures and videos of official events, friends and family in his phone. When he is travelling, he also uses his phone to listen to his favourite Indian classical music.

"Most of my work is done through the phone, as I travel a lot and seldom get time to sit down and work on my laptop during the day," he says. Sathish Shenoy, Vice President of Eros Electricals in Dubai, predicts that the mobile phone will become the most important business tool for professionals and business people on the move. "It is already doing most of what a laptop computer does and more in the sense that some of these phones can take pictures of high-quality with up to 8-megapixel resolution cameras.

"They also come with navigation features allowing us to know exactly where we are and how to reach anywhere in a particular city. With newer technologies coming on a regular basis we are in for some exciting times ahead," he says.