GP Mobile

Mobile Apps- Stay Connected!
The world rotates on its axis at about 1670 km/h and it travels around the sun 107 279 km/h - that is quick, and the next time someone asks you how fast you are, you can tell him that even when you’re standing still you are moving at over 100 000 km/h!

There is no denying we live in a fast paced world and the same thing can be said about our working world. With the proliferation of connectivity and communication technology in the last 20 years, the rate at which business is conducted has also increased dramatically. Now with the advent of the smart phone, business is going to go a whole lot faster!! 

As a lawyer you should be looking to take advantage of having a smart phone by making it work for you beyond just phone calls, email and surfing the net. You should be using it to work more efficiently and profitably. That’s why we at GhostPractice are introducing our very own mobile app - “GP Mobile” (even the name sounds fast and efficient).

1. What’s a mobile app?
What is a mobile app? Webopedia.com describes it as a term used to describe Internet applications that run on smartphones and other mobile devices. Mobile apps usually help users by connecting them to Internet services more commonly accessed on desktop or notebook computers, or help them by making it easier to use the Internet.

Basically it’s a piece of software that enables one to access and interact with internet based solutions.

As a Lawyer what does this mean for you if you have GhostPractice and you get our GP Mobile app?  It means that you will have a practice management solution that’s moving very rapidly to an Internet based solution geared to making you more productive and profitable.

2. Mobile app examples
Examples of mobile apps include Angry Birds, Skype and Google Maps. According to “Destimo” (a mobile app analytics company) 60% of the top 10 mobile apps in 2011 were games and entertainment apps, 30% were social networking and communications apps and 10% were utilities apps. It’s important to note that these stats were measured across all platforms (Apple, Andriod, Blackberry, etc).

Looking at the stats we could guess that either people with smart phones are mostly unemployed or don’t really use them effectively for work. Considering the cost of smart phones it’s probably that people don’t really use them effectively for work - which is sad when one considers that the productivity gains from using smart phones and mobile apps for work could really change the way one does business.

At  GhostPractice we believe that in order to be a successful lawyer you need to account for everything you do and as a lawyer who runs a business you need to make business decisions based on current and complete information. This is why our first iteration of our app focuses on giving you the ability to account for your time from anywhere and access information (key reports) from anywhere.

3. Key features of mobile apps for business
When you buy a car you want to know what its key feature list includes, when you buy a phone it is the same, why should it be any different for a mobile app?

The point is that mobile apps (even those for business) are made for a specific purposes - key features in a CRM app will differ from those in an ERP app. But the aspect that is common to all business apps is that they provide access to the organisation’s main business system(s) and allow a user to perform critical functions.

Using SAP’s Business One mobile app as an example (SAP is the biggest ERP software provider to multi-national companies worldwide) - its key features include recording of activities, getting notifications, accessing reports and accessing specific information stored in the main SAP system.

 GhostPractice, which is the Law firm’s version of an ERP system (and more), will have its mobile app - GP Mobile offering you the following key features for a start:

1. Access to your firm’s matters.
2. The ability to record activities done on a matter.
3. Access to matter specific information.
4. Access to key business reports.

GP Mobile will give you what other bigger, more expensive programs offer from day one of its release - not bad for our first try.

4. Benefits of mobile apps
As important as its functions are, a mobile app should provide you with tangible benefits! AT&T ran a survey to assess mobile apps and the small business user (which they define as 2-50 employee organisations). They found out that the benefits users most want to gain from their business mobile apps were time savings (62% of those polled), increased productivity (59% cited) and cost savings(29%).

It is interesting to note that eleven percent of people polled even admitted to using mobile apps “to be cool and hip”. We don’t see anything wrong with that. GP Mobile will enable you to:

1. Save Time - no more duplication of work by having to make notes on the inside of the file or a piece of paper, or get someone else to record what you have done. One can also access information from anywhere easily - another time saver
2. Be More Productive - you can log what you do when you do it without having to use other staff or pieces of paper.
3. Save Costs - reduced telephone calls and emails for admin communications, no unnecessary trips to the office to access matter information and no more printing reams of paper so you can have access to matter information...money in the bank!

Plus, you will even be cooler - none of your other peers/competitors (without  GhostPractice) will have a similar app.  Showing-off is okay sometimes!

Smart phones and mobile apps are here to stay - you can use them to play games, you can use them to communicate and now if you are a  GhostPractice client, you can use GP Mobile to be more productive and profitable...call us to find out more and become tomorrow’s lawyer today!

If you would like to know more about GhostPractice or GP Mobile or how  we are driving change in the legal industry feel free to call me on 084 586 6789 or email me, kubenn@korbitec.com.

Kuben Naidoo