As often as possible, I like to make every function of the desktop experience available from a mobile. My "secret sauce" if you will, is a transaction engine that brokers communication between an existing ERP system and new database and web servers that provide an attractive and 100% customizable interface for each user. If you don't like the way the buttons line up or where the text is, just move it. Every user can make their experience be exactly what they want it to be and they can access their data from anywhere via the web interface without the typical VPN or RDP. In simplest terms, I can turn the cumbersome and irritating interfaces of Timberline, Quickbook, Goldmine, (just about anything) into a web interface that users can fine tune to their exact needs and access remotely. A lot of times, after a few years on my system, the customer will decide that they don't want to spend hundreds of thousands on licensing for the next version of Oracle (or whatever it may be), so my product morphs from being just the UI to the fully fledged ERP solution. When they do that, I move all of their systems to the cloud (whichever host is the best fit for the particular client), save them a TON of money on servers, maintenance, power, licensing, and maintenance contracts, and provide them with "the coolest software ever." This is really where the mobiles come into play. Once a user realizes that they can place orders, schedule service calls, pull inventory, or send out invoices (whatever their day-to-day usage of their software may be) from their phone, they begin to do it more and more often. This is where iPhones become a burden. The basics work OK, but when it comes to parts of the mobile UI that require plugins or access to the microphone, camera, GPS... iPhones just flat out suck. When I have attempted in the past to include compatibility for Apple devices, the cost of the project skyrockets out of reach for the client. It's not just my product either. Every development team that I've worked with has given me the same arguments.

So that's what I do... sorry for the novel.