Mobile tech will take over businesses by 2007

Businesses have finally promoted wireless to the level of business application proper, according to new research, with 65 per cent of them predicted to deploy a wireless application before 2007.

Email on the move is the one application that's driving the take up, a new report from analyst house Meta Group has found. The report predicts that by 2007, 50 per cent of companies will have mobile email and by 2008 that will have risen to 75 per cent.

Companies will also start to spend more on their mobile strategies as they expand in scope, the research says, with the average rollout likely to plateau at 100-200 seats and at a cost of US$250,000 to US$500,000.

Before embarking on a deployment CIOs need to get their strategy right, according to Meta Group, and decide how they will be able to measure the success of the mobile technologies.

Among the issues a CIO should consider before kitting out the company with wireless devices are when to replace them, what kind of network is appropriate, how to deal when employees lose their devices and how to analyze the ROI for the rollout.

While remote access to email might be the reason businesses go wireless, mobile technology rollouts will gain in complexity and importance, according to Meta Group VP Jack Gold.

"As users grow increasingly comfortable with wireless email, they will demand more sophisticated technology. Companies will respond by deploying mission-critical wireless applications that address asset management, logistics, delivery, and a host of other enterprise needs," he said in a statement.

Jo Best writes for Silicon.com.