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With mobile penetration exceeding 100% of Australias population, the mobile phone is now undeniably part of the fabric of our lives. In business, mobile data has become the latest frontier for companies seeking greater responsiveness in the face of rising competition and customer expectations. For many organisations, geographical expansion and the continual search for a better work/life balance for their employees also mean increasing numbers of workers are spending more time outside the office and relying more on wireless technology to stay connected.

The first major milestone in Australian business mobility came when Telstra unveiled the blackberry wireless email solution in 2003. Since then, the other three mobile carriers along with a host of other wireless email solutions have flooded the market with choice and greater affordability. More than three years after its first debut, wireless email has now become the most popular business application being mobilised by Australian organisations.

As the mobile carriers continue to roll out higher-speed networks and mobile applications become more commonplace, the market is experiencing another significant milestone, where Australian companies are beginning to mobilise business process centric applications in a major way. Notable applications include customer relationship management (CRM) for sales and marketing personnel, workforce automation and inventory management for workers in the field, and industry-specific applications such as mobile transactions, location services and assets tracking. Challenges

The rapid growth in mobile business applications does not come without challenges, however. The additional data traffic mobile workers generate and their growing needs for a better user experience are putting considerable strains on the corporate network. As a result, companies with a growing mobile workforce are encountering the formidable task of ensuring their corporate infrastructure and business support systems can accommodate the change.

Technical issues organisations are likely to face include:

Network Readiness. More mobile workers accessing company data mean increases in traffic on the corporate network. access to bandwidth-hungry business applications, as well as real-time and multi-modal communications, such as voice and video conferencing, makes network scalability and quality of service a critical consideration.

Remote access and security. As with wired remote access users, mobile workers using a wireless connection increase the risk of the corporate network being exposed to unauthorised users. Increasing numbers of viruses and malicious codes are also making their way to the mobile world. Wireless Standards. Despite its rapid developments, the wireless industry remains a highly fragmented market in terms of standards, with many incompatible and proprietary technologies each offering its own unique advantages. The large number of mobile device choices and operating systems available on the market today only serves to exacerbate the situation.

Mobile device management. mobile devices used in an organisation, either centrally or individually purchased, tap into the company's network and databases, and must therefore be properly monitored and managed. Unmanaged mobile devices can bring serious security risks (viruses and hacking) to the organisation, as can the misplacement and theft of those devices.

Back-end Integration. Given the variety of back-end systems in an enterprise, it is crucial that mobile solutions integrate seamlessly with the existing infrastructure. companies also have to ensure their applications are ready to meet the needs of mobile workers and the specific requirements of the mobile devices they use without substantial modifications to the databases or applications being mobilised.

On the business front, companies are facing the following challenges:

Cost control. Implementing mobile solutions invariably involves for both upfront and ongoing costs. Obtaining accurate estimates of total cost of ownership can be difficult. In addition, businesses will need to take into consideration the cost of wireless connectivity which can be significant, particularly when there are no centralised subscription plans.

ROI Justification. Justification of the benefits, especially intangible or soft benefits like improved workforce productivity and business efficiency, can be difficult to quantify, and can vary greatly among the various types of mobile users. At times, companies may have to justify the lack of a demonstrable ROI instead.

Training and support. The resources to support the mobile solution being put in place are as important as the solution itself. User training must take into account the existing knowledge and offer ongoing formal and informal training programs. The IT department's buy-in on technical support and user training forms a key part of a successful mobility strategy.

Convergence and mobility

Many Australian businesses are merging their voice and data communications onto one platform. That move, made possible by internet protocol (IP) technology, is also allowing them to amalgamate traditionally disparate telecom and IT networks, simplifying the procurement and administration of technologies and greatly reducing costs.

With IP as the common enabler of the technology roadmaps of businesses and carriers alike, convergence is also blurring the demarcation between private and public networks. Since IP is at the heart of wireless radio and mobile device developments, it is natural for businesses to leverage their IP infrastructure and integrate mobility as part of their convergence strategy. In other words, IP is also melding wireless and wireline technologies, thus playing an instrumental role in helping organisations achieve advanced stages of mobility deployment.

Given mobility technology will become an inextricable element of the corporate IT infrastructure, future challenges will likely become even more complex. Therefore, it is critical that decision makers adequately address the early challenges raised here, or they will miss the opportunity to realise the full benefits of mobility and risk falling behind competition.

about the Author

Warren Chaisatien is the Managing Director of http://www.telsyte.com.au an Australian-based market research and consultancy specialised in the competitive intelligence of the converged communications market. Telsytes expertise is centered around the three core competency areas of carrier & broadband, mobile & wireless, and enterprise communications. Telsyte provides industry insights through custom research and consulting as well as ongoing research, including market reports and online databases.