The Untethered Worker

Roaming employees can use wireless LANs for voice calls and high-speed cellular networks for data.

By Mitch Betts

May 17, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Wireless technology -- with its incompatibilities, security holes, dead zones and fuzzy ROI -- has got to be the most immature and frustrating field for IT managers. But it's also the most exciting. Almost every day, there's a new capability, fancier gadget or higher speed -- and technologists eat that stuff up.

In this special report, for example, we cover the new capability to do IP telephony over wireless LANs with gadgets that act like Star Trek communicators. What could be cooler? And carriers are rolling out nationwide, high-speed cellular networks that, eventually, will be a boon to road warriors and mobile data applications.

But as corporate IT folks, you don't get paid to install or support cool toys; you get paid to enhance productivity and the bottom line. (You knew that, right?) That requires some less-than-cool discipline along the following lines:

Provide the simplest technology that will get the job done.

Match the technology to the type of work the individual does. Some employees are message-oriented, for example, while others need to fill out forms in the field.

Avoid chaos by managing costs and devices centrally and establishing company policies. Cell phone bills are already out of control, and the next challenge will be keeping costs for Wi-Fi hot-spot connections in line.

That's what IT management is all about: selecting technologies that provide business benefits while controlling the costs. If you're lucky, and the ROI is good, maybe you can still get your hands on a Star Trek communicator.

See the full special report.

Mitch Betts is Computerworld's Features editor. Contact him at mitch_betts@computerworld.com.

The Untethered Worker

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