Las Vegas is beginning to find its footing as a tech hub.
The valley ranked seventh in a recent study of high-tech office markets, and the local tech workforce was the second-fastest growing in the country last year, according to a study by commercial realty brokerage firm Jones Lang LaSalle. It ballooned by 23 percent.
Much of the city's success can be attributed to local entrepreneurs building tech companies and developing new products, many of which are making their way to computers and smartphones.
Most everybody has a smart device these days, and the thousands of apps that are developed annually make life easier. That's particularly true for busy multitasking business owners and executives.
Here's a look at 13 apps -- some being developed in Las Vegas, all being used here -- that can help streamline workers' lives:
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CardMunch
Available for iPhone
Cost: Free for LinkedIn members
Even in an electronic age, people like to hand out business cards. CardMunch keeps the cards from piling up on your desk and saves people's contact information to your phone.
Take a picture of a business card and CardMunch forwards it to people who transcribe the information. The copying isn't automated -- actual humans do it -- so accuracy is high.
Users can keep the information in the CardMunch app or import it to an iPhone contact list. Because the service is run by LinkedIn, users also can easily add contacts to their professional network.
"I used to have a stack of business cards on my desk that I rarely used," said Kaley Briesmaster, a Kirvin Doak Communications account executive. "With CardMunch, I can instantly connect with new contacts on LinkedIn, and I always have their business card stored in my phone. The app has made networking much more efficient and effective for me."
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Square
Available for iPhone, iPad, Android
Cost: Free to download, cost varies by use
Square gives small business owners and mobile operators an easy way to accept noncash payments.
A small, plastic square reader plugs into the headphone jack of a smartphone or tablet and reads credit or debit cards that are swiped through it.
Square charges users 2.75 percent of each purchase swiped or a flat fee of $270 a month. The reader is free.
Square also offers Square Wallet, a service that allows customers to make mobile payments using their phones instead of credit cards. Customers download the app and set up an account. To buy an item, they tap a "pay here" button, then scan a QR code, similar to a bar code. A digital receipt instantly appears, and Square Wallet is linked to customers' financial accounts so balances never have to be reloaded.
Starbucks is among the growing number of companies that accept Square Wallet payments.
Square says it has more than 2 million users.
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HP 12C Financial Calculator
Available for iPhone, iPod Touch
Cost: $14.99
This calculator app has the same layout and 120-plus functions as its mechanical predecessor, the HP 12C Financial Calculator. Both were developed by Hewlett-Packard Co.
Horizontal mode shows the full calculator, while vertical mode provides a more basic calculator. Users can click the HP logo to list a reference page of common calculations. That information traditionally appeared on the back of the calculator.
