Russ Beattie says:
"Imagine what will happen when corporations realize how important it is for their workforce to have mobile phones, and how much they will benefit from those people have access 24/7 to their back end infrastructure via mobile data services."
I've mentioned my current company, Redknee, before. On their first day
every employee is given a mobile phone and a laptop. We do not have office voice mail; after four rings the phone is forward to the mobile, where we do have voice mail. So I am truly mobile and reachable, seeming to be in my office at all times, even if I'm in a meeting or even at home.
To be fair, we create software for mobile infrastructure, so we probably get the value clearly, and we are our own beneficiaries as well, but it is far more forward thinking than anyplace else I've seen.
Several people have Blackberries as well, where it makes sense. What I found odd is that people with Blackberries also have cell phones because the cost of the combined voice and data plans were outrageous compared to the deals available for voice and data separately.
A key issue in the way of enterprise mobility is the desire of the carriers to wring every last nickel out of all of their customers, without being able to see the potential returns if large companies provided every employee with a cell phone. It's even worse in Canada, where every service such as voice mail or call display is an additional charge, and there is a extra $7 service charge per phone. Plus tax of course.
As well, the truth is that not every employee really needs 24 hour email access or a data-connected mobile device given the current cost structure.
Though companies sometimes make some pretty ridiculous choices about about who needs mobile access. I once worked for a medical software company, a nine to five software shop. This company decided that the software project managers needed mobile phones in case something came up. Keep in mind these were people who never left the building between nine and five except for lunch, when everyone else was out too. Yet they were deemed critical.