InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

The 18 Best iPad Apps For SMBs

Start The Discussion | Jake Widman | April 27, 2010 08:01 AM

With new apps coming every day, the potential business utility of Apple iPad lies ahead. Selecting the right iPad apps is key to transforming Steve Jobs' latest toy into a valuable mobile business tool. To guide you in finding apps that will boost your productivity, we've identified the 18 best iPads apps for small and midsize businesses.

Informationweek Discussions

To upload an avatar photo, first complete your Disqus profile. | View the list of supported HTML tags you can use to style comments. | Please read our commenting policy.

Previous Slide Next Slide 10 of 14

In The Cloud

We've looked at several ways to put documents on your iPad from your computer, but sometimes you might forget a file before you leave the office. To make sure you can access your important documents no matter where you are, you can use SugarSync or Box.net (both free) to store and share documents in the cloud.

At its heart, SugarSync is an online backup service. With individual plans ranging from $5/month for 30 GB of storage and business plans starting at $50/month for 100 GB for up to three users, SugarSync backs up any or all folders on your computer with rudimentary version control. The iPad app lets you access your stored files, edit them (with an appropriate app on the iPad), and re-sync the edited versions. You can also designate a folder to be shared with others.

Box.net doesn't do automatic backup -- rather, you drag and drop files to its icon on your desktop as though it were a local drive. Again, you can organize the tiles into folders. But Box.net is more collaboration oriented: you can designate folders to be shared, and then others can access the files and edit them or add new files if they wish. Box.net accounts range from free for one user and limited storage to $15/user/month for multiple users and ample storage).

If you already have iTunes, go directly to SugarSync or Box.net.

Don't Miss:

The 17 Essential iPhone Apps For SMBs

Top 10 BlackBerry Apps For SMBs

12+ New Microsoft Office 2010 Features

More InformationWeek SMB Slideshows

Follow InformationWeek SMB on Twitter @http://twitter.com/infoweeksmb
Get InformationWeek SMB on your mobile device @http://mobile.bmighty.com