Exact, a provider of enterprise software, recently announced the Exact Synergy app for iPhone and iPad. Exact Synergy is the company’s project, document, and workflow management solution. The software consolidates information across CRM, HRM, and finance to improve collaborative capabilities.
The app allows business users to leverage the Exact Synergy software through a mobile platform. Users will be able to browse database information on customers and directly create routes through Google Maps. Users can also view a real time overview of vacation days and submit requests for time off. Managers can approve or deny these requests on the app as well, increasing mobile productivity and the speed of communication. The app can also prefill time sheets with options for user adjustment. The app also facilitates instantaneous expense tracking. Employees in the field can capture photos of receipts that can be linked to certain projects or articles. The responsible manager will then receive a notification to either approve or reject the expense.
Martijn Janmaat, CEO of Exact, commented on the landmark app release:
“With Exact Synergy for iPhone and iPad, we have achieved the next milestone in our mobility approach. It’s our goal to support our customers’ daily business activities anywhere and anytime, while simplifying the involved processes. By enabling them to, for instance, submit timesheets or process expense claims on their iPhones or iPads, Exact Synergy for iPhone and iPad minimizes the administrative burden that is normally related to these activities. In the near future, we will further expand our mobile reach with dedicated applications for the Android platform. We are fully engaged to enable as many customers as possible to benefit from the advantages our apps have to offer.”
It’s Only Just Begun
The release of this app comes at a pivotal time as mobile productivity becomes a greater trend. The surge of Software-as-a-Service applications and cloud computing has untethered workers from offices. In addition, powerful smartphones (now owned by 1 in 3 Americans according to a Nielsen survey) and other mobile devices are further fueling the mobile office explosion.
Releasing an iPad app was also a smart move for Exact. In fact, the iPad is on track to become one of the most popular mobile devices in history. Morgan Stanley research shows iPad shipments growing faster than the iPod, iPhone, Netbooks, iPod Touch, Nintendo DS, or the Sony PSP did. 50% of Fortune 100 companies are testing and evaluating the iPad for work use. At Wells Fargo, the iPad was cleared for work use after only weeks. Compare that to 2 years of study for the iPhone. A Zogby International survey shows that over 50% of American smartphone users would use a tablet computer for work if they were allowed.
Clearly, there is a strong interest and demand in using mobile devices for work. Exact’s move is indicative of a larger trend towards enabling the employee to be productive, wherever they are.
What do you think about Exact’s iPhone/iPad app? Could your company leverage mobile technology to improve productivity? Will offices even exist in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[Photo courtesy of livetechservices.]