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Office

Yesterday, we brought you five great reasons to bring your Nokia Lumia to work. Here’s another five to complete the round-up: 

6. Security & Device management

This should be no secret to your IT guy, but you’ll be pretty pleased to know that Lumia smartphones meet the essential IT security requirements. That doesn’t mean you can be laissez faire about where you leave your phone. But if you do realise that it’s not where it should be, then actions can be taken by you or your IT team to wipe or lock your phone so that confidential information is not accessed by others.

There’s also leak protection with Microsoft Information Rights Management, which secures email and encrypts Office documents, adding another layer of business security. Other than this, a robust variety of encryption, malware protection and device management tools and applications from leading vendors are supported to ensure that company data is protected.

7. Nokia Drive

Nokia Drive is now part and parcel of Nokia smartphones. For globetrotters who travel frequently for business, Drive goes a long way in cost saving. If you usually rent a car and need to navigate your way to your hotel or meeting venue, you can save yourself and your company a pot of cash.

Before your trip, download the map of the country that you’re visiting (Settings > Manage Maps). If you’re visiting a large country, you’ll get the option to download maps of cities rather than the whole country. Then, when you’re in your car, simply go offline by toggling your connection (Settings > Connection), but you’ll still be able to make your way to your destination – without the bill shock.

8. Lync Mobile

Lync screenshot

Instant Messaging has become so popular that its acronym, IM, has become a verb! Raise your hand if you’ve found yourself saying “IM me,” “I’ll IM you,” or “Oh no, why is my boss IM-ing me at this hour?” Whatever it is, IM at work is a blessing and lets you reach colleagues easily and almost instantaneously… If they choose to respond right away, of course.

Thanks to Lync Mobile, which is available from the Windows Phone Marketplace, you can see who is online, busy, away or simply does not want to be disturbed.

Change your status on your PC or Lync Mobile, and the other automatically updates to reflect your status. Invite and chat with multiple colleagues at the same time, or join conferences with a single tap. Search the company directory for contacts that aren’t in your phone book, and you can even call or send them an email directly from Lync. If you’ve avoided IM-ing at work, with Lync Mobile on a Lumia, you’ll find that it’s actually quite a handy app to have.

9. Office 365

You’ll find the word “cost” peppered throughout this post, because these days people want to do more for less. There’s nothing wrong with that, which is why there’s Office 365.

Imagine this: you’re ready to set up a business for that billion-dollar idea that’s been sitting in the back of your head, and unless you’re planning on running a small bank for the world’s 50 richest people, the last thing you’d want to do is throw your money at IT services, especially when you need money for office space, hiring people, getting Microsoft Office licenses and email accounts, and so on.

Office 365 is a godsend for small-and-medium-sized businesses. Without incurring expensive hardware and software licenses, it gives owners all the necessary tools needed – including Microsoft Office, email accounts, instant messaging with Lync, and file sharing with SharePoint or your team site. And with just a couple of taps and entries, you can make it all happen and start operations by setting up your Office 365 account on your Lumia smartphone. Setting up a business is hard work, so let your Lumia make it a little easier for you.

Nokia Lumia 800

10. Four nice devices to choose from

The Lumia range – consisting of Lumia 900, Lumia 800, Lumia 710 and Lumia 610 – aren’t just appealing to look at. Sure, the distinctive Nokia designs, colours and user experience have brought in accolades from around the world, including the Best of CES 2012 Award for the Lumia 900, Best of Mobile World Congress 2012 Award for the Lumia 610, and Mobile News Award 2012: Innovative handset for the Lumia 800 in the UK.

The real beauty is in how the Windows Phone technology is made so simple to use. The user experience is incredibly fast and easy, and people appreciate the departure from the standard grid of icons that you see on other smartphones.

And most importantly, you have four beautifully designed devices to choose from, depending on your budget and style. If you want the high-end stuff, then go for the Lumia 900 or Lumia 800. If you’re not too fussed about the screen size or the polycarbonate unibody, and cost is definitely a consideration, then you have the Lumia 710 and Lumia 610 to choose from. But no matter which Lumia smartphone you choose, you’ll know that it works for business.

Agree? Disagree? Anything to add to the list?

Image credit: @boetter