Remember that idea you had about robotic carrier pigeons while sipping coffee in Victoria Station – too bad you had forgotten about it by the time you were back at the office with the resources available to start developing early-stage commercial drone tech.
The year was 2007. Apple hadn’t yet launched the iPhone and projects had to be put on hold while the office computers were shut off. Meanwhile, an as-yet untapped market was lurking for collaborative, super-connected work that could be continued no matter where or when you were.
With the launch of the iPhone, smartphones started cropping up everywhere, and their features, such as web browsing, taking photos and playing addictive games, replaced making calls as the primary function of a phone.
But the smartphone was more than a gadget that could provide easy distraction; mobile devices took on a new role in business. Unprecedented communication was achieved through free video conferencing while cloud computing allowed for documents to be reviewed from anywhere.
And let’s talk a little more about the cloud. When big tech companies started offering a cloud service what you got was a little extra storage in a place most people weren’t familiar with. It didn’t seem like a safe place to keep classified company information. It didn’t take long though for the cloud to grow, expand and become part of a crucial project management software option. The ability to interact with files online made it possible for people to collaborate on and organise projects anytime, anywhere.
Free online presentation software offers you a powerful tool to create your presentations, even if you’re out of the office. Tech giants like Microsoft and Apple now incorporate cloud computing into their OS while companies like Google offer 15GB storage as part of your free account. Google also gives users an office suite in which documents can be created, saved and shared online. Other companies cater to more business-focused needs, like Glasscubes, who offer a platform from which users can edit files, track a project’s development and set deadlines within a virtual workspace.
The next time you pull your smartphone out of your pocket just think about the tool you have before you and the power it has to build a team to turn your next big idea into a successful outcome, even if you’re just sipping your coffee in Victoria Station.
