Clearly, there is a growing shift away from the laptop. Increasingly, our customers are demanding that mobility serve as the lead access option for CRM. Smart businesses recognize mobile applications and smartphones are an opportunity to grow their businesses and get more out of their field sales and service teams. It's not just about emailing and messaging – users are demanding critical information and functionality from their devices to work how they want to work, whether it’s with an Excel document or a CRM sales pipeline.

Gone are the days when critical details of accounts and sales deals were ‘stuck’ on a laptop or server at the head office, or in a folder in the car. Rather, with a growing “work and play” life blend and users demanding flexibility, the smartphone is giving professionals and SMBs the ability to become hyper-productive, resulting in bottom-line results over their competitors. Managers can also manage by exception on-the-fly and become more proactive for customer service issues.

The war between the BlackBerry and iPhone only strengthens the fact that smartphones have harnessed the power of the laptop. And with manufacturers, application and content providers coming together to enhance the most prolific market of our time, the good news is that SMBs today can really compete with the big guys on a level playing field and even win. User experience is king – it’s up to us to give it to them today.