As the role of mobile devices in the commercial real estate workplace matures, many real estate professionals like you are finding that they are useful business tools almost more than they are useful real estate tools. While applications like CoStar Go, PowerOne Finance Pro Calculator and LoopNet are useful, the real power frequently comes from the same applications that are applicable outside of our industry as well. Here are the top five business applications that can help make your more productive at your desk and on the road.

1. Dropbox

Today, it seems like every company has its own preferred cloud storage vendor. Regardless of what your company offers you, the commercial real estate industry has spoken loud and clear. We love Dropbox.

While it's a great tool for accessing important files on the run, it's also a great adjunct to your email box. Dropbox's sharing tools make it easy to send large files (like offering memoranda or scanned multi-page leases) without having to deal with email attachments. Furthermore, the free space is enough to be useful for many users. 
See More Here

2. Route4Me

Google Maps is a great tool to help you get from Point A to Point B. It can even help you get from Point A to Point Z with multiple stops along the way. Where it falls down is in helping you figure out where to start, where to end and which stops to do when along the way. Used in the logistics industry, Route4Me allows you to input a set of addresses -- like locations that you need to tour -- and to get an optimized route that lets you do as much as possible in as little time as possible. 
See More Here

3. Evernote

Information in the commercial real estate world comes in multiple forms. Sometimes, we need to mark up leases. Other times, we want to save images. And we might also want to save articles or even jot down quote notes of thoughts that we have in passing. Evernote provides a single place to store everything, makes it easy to find what you need, and works in the cloud so that you can access your information from any device at any time. 
See More Here

4. Scanning Applications

A standard letter sized page, scanned at the 200 dot per inch resolution recommended by the Federal Government for its own archives contains just over 3.7 megapixels. At 300 dots per inch, it is 8.4 megapixels. In other words, the cameras on most smartphones are more than good enough to capture high resolution documents. Every platform has a range of different applications for scanning to PDF format, many of which are excellent. No smartphone in the commercial real estate industry is complete without one.

5. ESRI BAO

ESRI is one of the commercial real estate industry's default provider of demographics data. Their free (as of this writing) Business Analyst Online app gives you direct access to basic demographic data so that you can make better site decisions when you are in the field.
See More Here