The mobility space is pretty much divided into two: 1) business or enterprise users, and 2) consumers, which includes gamers. Many of us used to believe that “the enterprise” would be the driving force behind mobility and wireless. But that is not the case. Consumers have been the driving force behind wireless mobility. I learned this one the hard way, after spending years and a lot of effort in enterprise mobility. Yes, it is true that the Bubble Burst 1.0 had to do with why business decided to put their mobility efforts on hold, but in any case, consumers have been the ones driving mobility adoption. Today I believe it is all about enhancing communication and the experience.

And because consumers are driving mobility adoption in general, they are and will drive the adoption of handsets and mobility in the enterprise as well. And this adoption is happening passively and pervasively — consumers are taking their personal handsets with them to the workplace, and using them for both personal and work use. Even if
the IT department tries to push their preferred handsets to individuals, individuals are the ultimate ones who decide what they want to use. Handsets not only are very personal by nature, but are and will play a central role at work as well — one multifunctional communicator for both personal and business use (no need to carry many of these).
For many today handsets are the communication device of choice (and more so in the future) — for voice, for email, and SMS and IM, and for new communication methods yet to be invented.

It is a fact that people are buying handsets by the millions, and it is a fact these handsets are very personal by nature — people buy handsets based on their preferences and budgets, and as I said, they are bringing these to the workplace. With the recent advancements in 3G and advanced features in handsets,
such as cameras and music
and advanced software, this trend will continue and 2006+ should be a good year for mobility and wireless overall. This is transforming mobility in the enterprise, in many cases to the horror of the IT department — there are huge implications on company policies and device management. But IT departments should embrace this instead of fighting it, by adopting company policies and device management that allows the use of these (multi-role) personal-business handsets in the workplace.

ceo