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As we have seen, many of the technology barriers to secure and efficient wireless working have been addressed and solutions are available as commodities rather than bespoke developments – with pricing to match – thus making wireless working a viable project for enterprises of any size.

It is important to remember that in most cases the expectations of wireless workers have been set by their desktop experience. Wireless workers will expect to be able to run any application wirelessly that they have been using on their desktops. They will also expect to be able to roam between different networks and access point coverage areas without losing their connectivity, or suffering interruptions to their applications.

If user expectations aren’t met there is always the danger that the wireless working project that was a critical objective will fall into disuse because the user experience is unsatisfactory. So, be sure to consider the type of workforce and their individual use cases when considering your wireless strategy and remote access solutions. Ask yourself the following questions to help shape the best approach for your organization:

Are your wireless workers mobile as opposed to remote?

Do they need real-time access to information or applications while on the move?

Will they predominantly use wireless networks? Do they tend to roam across multiple public and private networks (such as wireless WANs from different cellular network providers, Wi-Fi hotspots, mesh networks, or wireless LANs)?

Do they need access to multiple applications? If so, are those applications web-enabled or client-server? Consider the performance requirements for those applications, especially if multiple applications will be used simultaneously.

Will the number of mobile workers or number of applications grow in the future?

Mobile VPNs are critical for enabling and securing wireless access to applications, data and networks. If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions listed above, a Mobile VPN is the right solution for your organization.

There remain very few inhibitors to the adoption and deployment of wireless working which will improve operational efficiency by allow employees to use computers at the point of customer contact and service delivery.

Remember, if your organisation is not implementing wireless working, your competitors probably are.