Mobility used to mean a cell phone and possibly one or more mobile data devices, such as a PDA or pager. If you traveled with your laptop, you were always on the lookout for connectivity back to the head office.

Office Anywhere

The emergence of ubiquitous broadband wired and wireless connectivity (via wired and wireless Ethernet, DSL and cable modem access, and third generation public cellular) has changed all that, which means that today you can take your office anywhere. And we’re not just talking about email and instant messaging. SIP-based communications, including IP Telephony and multimedia, let you take your office wherever you are and delivers a consistent, reliable, secure communications experience. It also provides you with controls over who can contact you, as well as how and when.

There are three general classes of mobile users, though the boundaries among these classes are not rigid. Users can be nomadic in the sense that they go from place to place and want connectivity when they get there. Users can be locally mobile either within the locale of their work place (e.g., leveraging wireless LANs or WLANs in a branch), and mobile anywhere, leveraging WLAN hot spots and public broadband wireless services.

In all cases, you can choose which single mobile device you use for real-time communications and data access, using software IP telephony/multimedia clients for a consistent experience in accessing information, communicating and collaborating, no matter where you are. You may have a choice in hands-free, wired or wireless headset, and push-to-talk. The level of standalone functionality is device dependent, with data synchronization provided when connected. The form factor of the mobile device can fit the job, including screen size and ruggedness and even battery life. Voice quality and adequate application bandwidth must be delivered even when roaming, along with security, privacy and confidentiality.

Let’s examine the three types of mobile users.

Nomadic users are very well served by laptops, which can be plugged into a docking station or use an Ethernet jack or a WLAN connection. Equipped with a multimedia client and twinned with the desktop phone, these can deliver rich multimedia capabilities. Security is provided through VPN technology whether connected via an on-site WLAN or over the Internet via DSL, a cable modem, a hotel Ethernet jack or a home or hot spot WLAN connection.

Locally mobile or campus mobile workers, whether informational or knowledge workers, require mobile devices that provide WLAN voice and data roaming across the building. These generally take the form of WiFi phone handsets with small displays and possibly with push-to-talk functionality, and VoIP-enabled PDAs, possibly equipped with built-in or peripheral devices, such as card readers and printers. Having a multimedia client can provide collaborative capabilities including presence and instant messaging, control over call routing and access to corporate directories.

Battery life and recharge times and talking and standby times are particularly critical for heavy usage environments. Given that battery life, for WLAN connectivity, is still a constraint for some applications, sub-optimal dual-device solutions may be required. This could consist of, for example, a WLAN handset and a tablet PC, or a WLAN handset and a specialized non-networked handheld data-capture device.

Mobile anywhere workers with broad off-site mobility needs are looking for comprehensive capabilities in a single device. While mobility has become an essential competitive capability, escalating costs for public mobile services is a major enterprise concern, and is being addressed through tighter IT management of this environment. One benchmark device is the voice-enabled Blackberry equipped with a SIP client, supporting secure email and real-time converged communications including Instant Messaging, personal agents and presence. Increased choice is emerging with similar functionality on other platforms such as Pocket PC devices.

Knowledge workers with on- and off-site requirements will be best served by dual-mode devices supporting both public wireless and WLAN capabilities. This provides the advantage of higher speed data connectivity when on-site. It also helps the enterprise reduce costs associated with using public wireless services to make and receive calls when roaming the premise (given that up to 50% of calls are received or originated on-site). Seamless roaming will allow users to move freely between the WLAN and public cellular environments without session interruption.

The Need for Partnership with IT

IT has the overall responsibility for establishing and evolving enterprise IP telephony and real-time converged communications infrastructures, and needs to address security, support and management, networking implications including public gateways and WLAN coverage, and standardization. Therefore, IT needs to work with end users and with business units across the enterprise to ensure that the benefits of IP telephony, mobility and multimedia collaboration are realized.

Tony Rybczynski, Director-Strategic Enterprise Technologies and Thomas Gunther, Global Strategic Accounts, are both at Nortel (www.nortel.com). Mr. Rybczynski may be reached at 613-768-4920; email: tonyryb@nortel.com and Mr. Gunther may be reached at 212-317-4168; email: tom_gunther@nortel.com.