A new definition of ‘appiness
Monday, 21 March 2011
Where would we be without apps? Suddenly it seems there is an app for absolutely everything, from teaching your toddler its first 50 words in Spanish to helping the visually-impaired to identify different currency bank notes. The amount of creativity that has gone into many of these new apps is quite startling and, of course, the investment will have been significant too. In some cases, no doubt, enough of us will decide that we can't live without the new X, Y or Z and it will genuinely bring a fresh new benefit and dimension to our lives. In other cases, I fear that much energy and entrepreneurial flair will have been mischannelled and misspent. Just because an idea works as an app doesn't mean it can deliver a sustainable business model over the longer-term.
One look through a business and consumer trends newsletter this morning confirms one thing in my mind though. The internet, apps and mobile phones have transformed the way in which we connect with each other – across communities, neighbourhoods, regions, countries and, of course, globally. We are almost connected whether we like it or not. The initial news footage and reporting of the after-effects of the Japanese tsunami were provided by local people experiencing and witnessing the disaster as it unfolded – most of it from their mobile phones. Fast forward a few weeks and it is mobile technology – email, websites and text (SMS) – that are allowing us to donate money, either to help the Japanese relief effort or to support causes such as Comic Relief. Surely it's no coincidence that Comic Relief raised £74 million this year – hardships aside, it is now so much easier to give.
For the moment I'm happy to let the rest of the business world go app-tastic. At Harvard Managed Offices we currently have two office business centres providing services offices and meetings room – in London and Slough. For now we're concentrating on delivering good value, professional service with a smile. We're a 'back to basics organisation' and proud of it, although when the time is right, the price is right and the demand is clear, we may yet find our own path to 'appiness.
Philip Parris, Chairman, Harvard Managed Offices
