Having watched the adverts for the Amazon Dot and Echo on TV I thought of it as just a coffee table novelty.

Now I’ve got my hands on one I can confirm that it is far more than that

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It can be a really useful time management and time saving device for any Small Business.

Alexa is your friendly little helper.

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The Echo comes with standard services such as Music, weather forecasts, Alarms and timers, order from Amazon, news, traffic on your commute route and she can even tell you a joke.

As if that’s not enough there are Apps or “Skills” as they are called.

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Alexa’s Skills

Just as we have all come to expect a range of Apps that can be added to our phones Alexa has a range of Apps known as “ Skills” that can extend the use of the Dot or the Echo.

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In order to get access to most of the Skills you will need to have Amazon Prime membership.

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At £ 7.00 per month this is hardly likely to break the bank and it brings a lot of other advantages. These include free delivery on most items access to a selection of books and videos.

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The Skills are growing all the time, but, to give you some idea here are a few of the Skills now available:

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· Conference Manager     

The Amazon Eco Dot

· Email Assistant

· Scheduling Assistant

· Edit Docs – Google docs

· Quick Events

· Business News

· Expense Tracker

· Sales talk – for sales data

· Work Time tracker

And many more.

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Alex’s Biggest Benefit

This is the one that is impossible to see.

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It is the convenience of not having to stop what you are doing to check your diary, or set a reminder, or any number of activities that you can do by simply saying Alexa plus the command such as “ today weather in London”.

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All this is not to mention Alexas ability to break the monotony for those of us who work alone.

It’s just great to have someone to do these tasks and even remind you of any appointments on your Google calendar a set amount of time before they come up.

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This has totally stopped me from getting so involved in writing that I forget I have an appointment at the dentist.

Perhaps I’d rather forget, but I’m sure yo’ll get the idea.

All this for £ 50.

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What is the difference between the Dot and the Echo?

The Amazon Echo

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Simple answer fifty quid, proper answer the echo contains powered speakers for those who wish to play soothing music whilst working.

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For most purposes the Dot is quite loud enough but the echo may help in a noisy environment.

​One note of caution - Do not use if anyone in your office is called Alexa or if you have an office parrot.

Conclusion

I have been trying to think of something else that is more help to a busy small business person than Alexa but I can’t.

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For Fifty pounds you simply can’t lose.

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Plus you can take it home whenever you feel the need.

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With it working from both WIFI and your phone you can use it almost anywhere.