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1. The iPad.

“I can’t think of another type of tool or product that’s been embraced so quickly by the advisory community,” says Winterberg, speaking about Apple’s iPad tablet. Indeed, the iPad is fast becoming a day-to-day difference-maker for advisors, providing a gateway to all kinds of useful (and sometimes just plain cool) client-facing, back-office and cloud-based tools for business (and, dare we say, for personal enjoyment, too). There’s even a LinkedIn group called “Financial Advisors With iPads” from which a new term for tablet-wielding advisors has emerged: the “iPadvisor.”

2. The Microsoft Surface tablet.

A direct challenger to Apple and the iPad, the new Surface may have an edge over its chief competitor because it doesn’t require advisors who are comfortable using Microsoft operating systems and software to step out of their comfort zone to learn the Apple operating system. “The beautiful thing is, you’re using one operating system, whether you’re on a mobile device or at your desk,” says Andrew Gluck, a founder of Advisors4Advisors, a practice management portal, and Advisor Products, a client communications and marketing company, both serving independent financial advisors. Released in late October and aimed squarely at business users, this sleek, powerful tablet runs Windows 8. What’s more, Microsoft is also poised to roll out more retail stores, plus new Windows-based phones, in the months ahead. The Apple versus Microsoft rivalry is about to escalate.

3. Microsoft Office 365.

“I think advisors will be moving to the cloud,” says Gluck. “Instead of hosting Microsoft Exchange and Office, they’ll buy Office 365.” And in doing so, they’ll get web conferencing, file sharing, email — pretty much everything available with Exchange and Office — while shifting email archiving and other time-consuming, often costly administrative tasks to Microsoft and the cloud. That can mean substantial cost savings for small and mid-sized practices, Gluck contends. Check out office365.microsoft.com for a free trial.