The smart phone was first created to help make the professionals work easier. Since then it has largely become a consumer item more than a business tool with a large percentage of people using them for personal use rather than work. That being said almost all business people now use them so there is clearly a need for them amongst this group. The way that professionals use their smart phones is a good indicator of what will happen with them in the future.
Most people who use a smart phone for professional reasons use it primarily as a portable office. A lot of professionals spend a great deal of time travelling and having a way to do their work means that they are able to be productive during this time. The biggest benefit is that they are able to stay in touch with their office. This is an important benefit since it means that they are able to stay up to date with what is going on at the office. Having up to date information could come very handy when meeting with clients.
Another reason that a smart phone can be a useful tool for a professional is that they are able to use it to access the company network. That means that they will be able to get any documents that they need to be able to do their work. Without access to the network in this day and age it is very difficult to get any work done. Being able to access the network means that you will have the same information that you would if you were actually at the office. Clearly this makes you much more productive when you are trying to do your work.
Smart phones were developed from PDA's which were created in the first place to help keep busy professionals organized. Smart phones have retained this capability and include things like a day planner and an easy way to organize documents. In a lot of ways a smart phone is like a secretary that you bring with you when you are travelling. The result is that it is much easier to get your work done. The ability to keep yourself organized is not limited to when you are travelling, most professionals use them every day to keep things straight.
These days almost all professionals have smart phones and they are finding them to be very useful. That being said we have really just scratched the surface of what they can do. As time goes by and smart phones get better and more apps are created for them they will surely become even more useful. In fact the day may well come when most professionals do their work on their smart phone and never even bother to go to the office. This is still a ways down the road but it could well end up happening.