Top 30 iPhone Business Reference Applications

by Bill French on 12/05/09 at 10:16 pm

Bill French is an information architect specializing in Internet applications. He is also the co-founder of MyST Technology Partners and Senior Editor for iPhoneCTO.

We live in a world where just-in-time learning is not only possible, but an accepted operational strategy. I’ve shown up for meetings with bare-bones notes and reports, but emerged with a wealth of information – bookmarks, web pages, statistics, and even some code – all made possible with my iPhone.

Previous attempts to work like this proved futile; the causes were poor connectivity, operating system issues, lack of Microsoft Office support, and browser limitations. iPhone creates an opportunity to get briefed quickly or get up-to-the-minute access to office documents, databases, and other resources. Native reference apps are highly focused on specific tasks and perform far better that general web sites and portals. But the resources at your fingertips don’t stop with the usual enterprise or web-based resources; plenty of just-in-time resources are within iPhone’s reach through native applications that can be very helpful in certain business situations.

The App Store References section lists tools that can expand your knowledge across hundreds of topics. While most of these tools are intended for personal use, many are designed to help you get things done in business scenarios.

Regardless of your profession, a quick scan of App Store References will yield a wealth of tools that can help in a variety of business tasks. Below is just a sample of the applications that can provide instant access to information that will enhance performance. Use the App Store’s search feature to locate these apps.

C-Level Management