In today's fast-paced world, it's critical to keep your business running smoothly even when you're on the run. Fortunately, there are several technology choices which you can use to succeed. But before you dive into mobile technologies, it is important to clearly first identify your organization needs. Information technology (IT) is at its best when used to integrate and standardize business operations. For example, if you need to generate job estimates, standardizing the estimating process using technology can generate operational efficiencies that lead to better accuracy, faster turnaround times, and ideally, more closed projects. There are read more -estimating solutions, but are they prepared to "go mobile?" Alternatively, your business may need site planning software, a timesheet solution, inventory tracking, project management software, contact management software, and the list goes on and on. After you have determined what you would like do to while on the run, then it's time to make some technology choices. It's possible your existing line-of-business application can leverage the ubiquity of the web using cloud computing. Cloud computing has plenty of definitions but in simplistic terms, cloud computing can be an application or resource that is housed outside of your personal facility and accessed via the Web. Quite often it really is subscription based; therefore, expands or shrinks as needed to meet your current needs. The simplest way to discover if your line-of-business is available on the cloud would be to ask the program vendor or your trusted IT company. Before you make the jump to a cloud-based solution, there are a number of questions you need to ask, including: Where is my data hosted? How is it secured? How is it backed up? Imagine if I wish to bring the application form back in-house? How is it priced and accessed? Imagine if I want special reports or data fields, am I restricted from creating them? And much more... However, even if your line-of-business application is not available "in the cloud," you might still be in a position to leverage the Internet to get access to and share information while on the go. Technologies such as virtualization, VPN, and terminal servers can make your company information readily accessible from mobile devices such as for example laptops, netbooks, tablets and even smartphones. Various other questions to ask yourself when coming up with mobile technology choices include how you'd like to interact with the information, for example, view only versus modify. Dependant on the answer, you may find that working on a little smartphone is not an extremely practical choice. Perhaps you only need to enter some basic information into a form and using a smartphone may suit you perfectly perfectly. With technology changing rapidly and the number of choices expanding daily, it's more important than ever to keep sight of your business goals and needs. By integrating mobile technology into your organization processes, your company could be more efficient and profitable than your competitors. Need help evaluating and selecting mobile technology solutions? IT Radix is here to help. As a seasoned IT professional and business proprietor at IT Radix, Cathy Coloff enjoys dealing with small-to-medium sized businesses on obtaining the most out of their technology dollars. Technology is serious business, but she likes to have fun making I.T. do the job. Homepage: https://cutt.ly/a6kKUrc