Apps are an incredibly important part of any businesses operation’s these days. You can get apps on your phone, web apps, desktop OS apps, the list is endless! But how do you find that diamond in the rough? Something that is actually going to help you achieve more with your business! What we also enjoy is anything that’s free. If we can do something at a lower cost, all businesses benefit. Here are a few of the best free business productivity apps that we’ve found over the last couple of years:

1.     Evernote

The ever popular Evernote is a fantastic app, available online, on your phone and on your desktop.

It allows you to take your notes everywhere you go. It makes sure that all of those little pieces of information that we accumulate as business people, are available to you at the drop of a hat. There’s no doubt that having this instant access can be a great asset to you. Next time you want to show someone an idea you’ve had. Next time inspiration strikes while you’re out for a run.

Whenever it strikes and wherever you are, you’ll have a place to take notes.

Not only that but you can share these notes with your colleagues instantly too. This creates an amazing network of information that everyone can access instantly. It’s absolutely ideal if you need to share information with the rest of your team!

2.     Dropbox

This simple application lets you store important files in the cloud, for recall whenever you need them. It’s similar to Evernote in the sense that you can access your information whenever and wherever you want. It also allows you to share them with other members of your team.

The big difference though, is that while we use Evernote primarily for text and links, we use Dropbox for larger files – graphics, presentations, audio files and code.

It makes things incredibly simple. I have my phone set up to sync all the photos I take on my phone to my Dropbox. (It’s saved me personally and professionally on a couple of occasions!).

3.     Any.Do

The ultimate ‘To Do’ list app. I use this for everything from when I’m supposed to be in a meeting to what I’m supposed to be picking up from the supermarket on my way home. You can create ‘To-Do’ entries that detail times, locations and reoccurrences.

It’s available on both iOS and Android. Its standout feature is the notifications it displays. Which allow you to select one of three options depending on where you are in the day. You can ask it to notify you later, mark the task as done, or cancel it altogether.

The fact that Any.Do uses these kinds of notifications means that your business ‘to-do’ list can be managed with just the tap of your thumb.

It also syncs with Chrome which is a useful feature!

4.     Feedly

The only RSS reader you’ll ever need.

Every business needs to keep their ear to the ground in their own industry. For my money, there’s only one RSS reader out there that matters and that’s Feedly.

In terms of business productivity you’ll be very hard pressed to find another way to get all the news you need curated into one interface which you can access online, on your phone or on your tablet.

It also has quick sharing buttons so you can send the article you’re reading to the aforementioned Evernote if you wanted to. Or share it with your followers on Twitter with a single click!

Since the demise of Google Reader, these guys have been leading the way in the RSS reader competition!

So there you go. Four free productivity apps for business. With these ingenious pieces of software, you’ll be able to get more done in less time.

Now anything that can help you achieve that is worth a mention!

What apps do you find useful for your business? Let us know on Twitter.