Within two to five years, businesses will be able to give users
a single wireless computing device that they can carry everywhere
to access corporate IT, Gartner predicts.
Developments in the network infrastructure to support
fixed-mobile convergence will enable users to access IT systems
from one device, said the analyst firm.
Mid-sized and large businesses are already providing end users
with wireless e-mail through devices such as the
Blackberry.
But some organisations, such as the
University of London Computer Centre, are starting to use
wireless networks to enable staff to access back-office systems
from mobile devices.
Gartner predicted that the
Session
Initiation Protocol (SIP) used in
VoIP systems will become the glue that joins different
networking environments together, to enable
wireless access to corporate IT.
SIP allows IT directors to roll out communication-enabled
business processes. Gartner said it could be used to build more
effective work processes and allow companies to make better use of
collaborative and multimedia applications.
The adoption of wireless devices in business will depend on
whether users accept the technology. Gartner urged IT directors to
evaluate staff preferences and expectations, in terms of the
devices, applications and services they needed to perform their
job, when planning for wireless e-mail deployments. Successful
mobile deployments would depend on ease of use of the devices and
applications, security, manageability and cost, it said.