Top 10 Apps for Your Business that are Built on Android Enterprise

Business processes can be automated and improved using sophisticated IT infrastructure, but for that we need state-of-the-art operating systems and apps. Android Enterprise is a Google-led initiative that promotes the use of Android devices and apps in the workplace. The program offers APIs and other tools for developers to integrate support for Android into their enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions. This article discusses the top 10 apps for businesses that are built on to Android Enterprise.

Android Enterprise, a Google initiative, offers enterprise mobility management (EMM) technology, which is required for processing the business data of an enterprise safely. EMM tools can be used to manage and secure connected mobile devices and mobile computing solutions. They can help to manage an organisation’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, which allows its employees to use their personal mobile devices to access the company’s network and data.

Three main technologies of EMM
EMM is used by Android Enterprise to secure and manage enterprise data using various tools and the API. It uses the following technologies to make any mobile device access the database of an enterprise safely.

1. Mobile Device Management (MDM): This enables IT administrators to apply security policies on mobile devices used within their network, and it gives life cycle management functions like locking, data wiping and control of these devices.
2. Mobile App Management (MAM): This also offers security administration and life cycle management functions but these are for the applications running on the mobile devices. With the help of MAM administrators, one can manage and distribute apps among the mobile devices connected to the network.
3. Mobile Identity Management (MIM): With this technology, administrators can secure system access. MIM ensures that only authorised users and devices can access protected data. It can help compile various types of identity management processes including digital certifications, single sign-on, device enrolment and authentication.

Together, these technologies provide the tools necessary to protect corporate data and prevent any kind of system breach. They also help to manage and control mobile devices remotely, including the OS and the apps installed. This helps employees to use their personal mobile devices under the BYOD policy and also work from home during any crisis. EMM also helps to lock any mobile device remotely, and can be used to track devices that are stolen or lost. With this technology, an IT administrator can even wipe off all the sensitive data from any mobile device whenever required. Its data separation feature gives access to only authorised apps and users, and keeps the personal data and apps of users separately in the system.

Components of Android Enterprise
EMM is integrated with Android Enterprise using three components: EMM console, Android Device Policy and Managed Google Play. The EMM console is the Web interface that can be used by the administrator for managing apps and applying policies to the mobile devices. Android Device Policy is an app that must be installed in the mobile device for the EMM policies to be enabled in it. Managed Google Play is a customised version of the Google Play store that allows only permitted apps to the connected mobile devices.

Top 10 business apps that are built on Android Enterprise
In order to make a business process safe and secure, one must use a reliable business app and be able to manage it with the tap of a finger. As there are many apps available in the app store, it’s often very difficult to find the right one for your business. Capterra Inc. is one company that helps in finding the right app for your business. The company assists customers with selecting the right app for their needs. It also reviews all kinds of apps, and rates them according to their performance and features. The following top 10 list of apps may be helpful for your business and are listed as per the reviews and ratings done by Capterra.

NetSuite
This app is offered by Oracle America, Inc. and is one of the best enterprise Android apps. It enables unparalleled access to the #1 Cloud Business Software Suite, which is a unified business management suite encompassing ERP/financials, CRM and e-commerce. NetSuite helps in managing your business from your PC, and with its mobile-only features and out-of-the-box support for 19 languages, it is useful for almost all types of businesses.

The main features of this app are:

• Get instant business snapshots, with full dashboard support.
• Check KPIs from anywhere.
• Manage time and expenses.
• Log inbound and outbound phone calls.
• Approve records and trigger key business actions.
• Tap approve expense reports and purchase orders.
• Plan workdays with full NetSuite calendar access.
• Harness the power of saved searches.
• Quickly create, view and edit records.
• Search and view lists of records.
• Create favourites for convenient lookup of record lists.

HoneyBook

This app is offered by HoneyBook Inc. and helps maintain your business efficiently. It helps in getting the right client and can reply to questions quickly, send professional invoices, contracts, quotes and brochures. This app can manage your clients and helps grow your business. HoneyBook can help you run your business seamlessly and stay organised from anywhere. You’ll be able to access client details, get notifications and respond, send invoices and use templates from anywhere from your mobile device.

The main features of this app are:

• Manage your client dashboard from anywhere and manage the client data in one place.
• Send messages and files to clients using personalised templates including invoices, contracts, emails, brochures and questionnaires.
• Send mobile-friendly invoices to clients and get your payment faster. Payments are safe and secure with 24/7 fraud monitoring.
• Get instant notifications about the client’s enquiries, messages and payments. You can check your availability and schedule without leaving the app, and also review your tasks.

Dynamics 365
Offered by Microsoft Corporation, this enterprise app is an essential business solution for busy professionals who need to engage with customers and be productive while on the go. With this app, one can arrive prepared for every appointment and update notes, tasks and attachments – along with the relevant service and sales records – while the details are still fresh. This app provides sales people, agents and supervisors with the best tools for managing and updating their data, either online or offline. Dynamics 365 can be deployed on any Android device seamlessly with the minimum configuration.

The main features of this app are:

• New look and compact layout with stacked elements, optimised to give essential information at a glance.
• The workspace and personalised action hub gives you the provision to do common tasks quickly.
• Has an enhanced note-taking feature, and seamless access to camera and other device capabilities.
• Give offline access with synchronisation, so that you can work on the go.
• Access your activities, accounts, contacts and leads from an easy-to-use home page.
  Has guided contextual business processes.
• Helps track progress for key performance indicators visually with charts.
• Access your personalised views of lists and grids so that you see the data most important to you.

Genbook
This app is offered by Genbook Inc., and helps to instantly book appointments with the businesses you need, conveniently. You can book or pay for various local services too, right from your Android phone. Genbook helps you with your appointments on the go, and can choose the time that’s right for you, at your convenience, 24/7.

The main features of this app are:

• Book appointments from the ‘Favourites’ list at any time.
• Easy viewing of the updated business details, services and prices.
• Get real-time availability and instant confirmation.
• Booking history and upcoming appointments can be managed.
• Reschedule, rebook or cancel with convenience.
• Nearby businesses can be discovered and booked easily.
• Verified customer reviews and ratings can be checked.

Zoho One
Offered by Zoho Corporation Business, this suite of apps helps to manage your business on your mobile device. It has all the comprehensive apps for your business and has centralised administrative control from one single console. This app helps you gain control of almost every business need including recruitment, launching your website, marketing your product, catering to customers, and so on. All permissions across the business data, such as user management, email hosting, mail management and security policies can be accessed by the administrators and owners of Zoho One. This app is now also available to all the Zoho One users in an organisation.

The main features of this app are:

• Offers admin privileges like add a user, assign apps and roles, formulate security policies, create groups, etc, from your mobile device.
• Get real-time notifications for reset password, assign apps, etc, from the users in your organisation immediately.
• Personalisation options such as creating a customised email address for all your employees and personalising their accounts.
• Launch all your apps within the suite with just a single tap, request access to the apps you need from the admin, and also discover apps that can be installed.
• Search all your data across Zoho apps without any hassle and work with other Zoho apps too. Find all the needed information and narrow down your search results with fine filters to find relevant information without switching between apps.

17hats
This app is offered by 17hats and can help maintain any small scale business. It can help to organise, manage and grow the business using a mobile device. It keeps you in touch with your business while you are on the go.

The main features of this app are:

• The dashboard lets you check recent client activity, pending documents and upcoming tasks.
• Quickly respond to any business email using various email templates.
• Create and edit contacts and projects, and quickly access details like email addresses, phone numbers and locations, to name a few.
• Easily view the calendar and adjust it, on the go.
• Send documents quickly, countersign a contract, or view a completed questionnaire.
• Workflows can be easily assigned to leads and clients.

Odoo
Offered by Odoo S.A., this suite of open source business apps covers most business needs like CRM, e-commerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale, project management, and more. The mobile app has been carefully built to ensure quick and seamless user adoption. Odoo gives the flexibility to add apps whenever a new need is determined according to the growth of a company, adding one app at a time as the business evolves and the customer base grows.

The main features of this app are:

• Configure the price list at the backend.
• Track products of the customers.
• Manage and publish banners separately.
• Product sliders and slider modes.
• Configure the selection of products, either automatic or manual.
• Manage push notifications.
• Configure action to trigger on customer’s product/ category/custom collection page.
• Manage unlimited featured product categories using the app builder.
• Home page with highlights of the popular categories.

vCita
This app is offered by vCita. It helps in managing your day-to-day activities like a pro and lets you build the business that you need. It helps with appointment scheduling, billing and invoicing, client management and even marketing! Simply sign up, log in and stay connected to your business and your clients 24/7. vCita lets you provide a seamless customer experience, allowing leads and helping to book appointments, paying for services, corresponding with other businesses and sharing documents via your website, Facebook page or directly from Google search.

The main features of this app are:

• Calendar, scheduling, client management, payments and marketing.
• Get more bookings from your website, Facebook page or through Google.
• Send friendly automated meeting reminders to reduce no-shows.
• Actionable invoices and payment reminders prevent any unpleasant collection calls.
• Client records with detailed client cards help create relationships.
• Engage with clients and offer last-minute deals with coupons and campaigns.

mHelpDesk
Offered by mHelpDesk, this app saves time and lets you stay productive even when you are not in the office. It gives you the ability to manage schedules, view job progress, check in on field technicians, send estimates and invoices, and much more. It can also make communication between office and field staff a breeze with real-time updates, and can quickly create estimates from templates on your mobile device on-the-fly. You can email or print these for your customer immediately to get ahead of the competition. mHelpDesk Payments helps you to get paid faster, easier and on the go, and also integrates with other payment options (PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.NET). This app also works offline and syncs with the database whenever it is online.

The main features of this app are:

• Work online or offline; with the offline feature, your team can continue to work even when Wi-Fi or a cell signal isn’t available. The app automatically syncs as soon as a connection is found.
• Simplified scheduling lets you check your own schedule or your team’s schedule, and create new jobs and appointments directly within the app. mHelpDesk can schedule with Google Calendar for extra efficiency.
• Create and send estimates on the go, using professional templates that you’ve selected and customised. When the work is done, you can turn the estimate into an invoice with a few taps.
• Get invoices paid faster by emailing professional-looking invoices directly from your phone.
• Customer support can be done easily by keeping all your leads, as well as customer and job details, within the app. And with automated email and SMS (text) alerts, team members and customers can always have the latest customer information on job status.
• Communication between office and field staff is seamless. Data is updated automatically so that everyone is on the same page.

Karbon
This app is offered by KarbonHQ and provides a truly collaborative platform for accounting firms to manage workflows, communicate with teams and deliver exceptional client work — from anywhere. It’s embedded in your workflow, so your team can estimate work and track the time right where the work happens. It lets you confidently scope work, automate data collection, scale client onboarding, anticipate bottlenecks and automate recurring work for the future. The communication is in one place, so you know your team members have everything they need to get started and see where every job stands to ensure accountability across teams. Karbon can analyse team performance, improve inefficient processes, identify your best clients, and help in future planning to improve profitability.

The main features of this app are:

• Discuss work with your team directly through emails, notes and tasks at hand.
• Transform emails into personal tasks or delegate them to your team.
• Assign notes, tasks, email and work to colleagues.
• Swipe and clear items that are not required.
• Identify what’s important using a low-priority filter.

Among the ten apps listed here, NetSuite, HoneyBook and Dynamics 365 seem to be the best apps from the point of view of performance and features. But you can use any app from this list as per your business need. These Android apps, rated by Capterra, can be considered for business use, but there may be some other Android app out there that may also suit your business requirement. So search around a bit before you finally settle on the app you feel is right for your business.