Any smart CIO would do the same, says. Companies that don't jump at mobilizing enterprise data and applications are risking not only alienating smartphone-toting employees but also losing ground to competitors. "Look, there are--what?--6.9 billion people on earth and about 1 billion PCs, but 5.3 billion phones. We have to embrace these devices," Relich says.

The clothing maker and retailer has three categories of enterprise mobile applications: marketing and branding apps aimed at consumers; productivity tools for the operations staff; and applications that help managers make decisions faster. This last group, (BI), is where Guess has focused most, Relich says, "because that is what will make you money." Guess revenues were up 16 percent for fiscal 2011, to $2.5 billion, while profits increased 13 percent.

One BI application allows Guess buyers, who decide which jeans and accessories to stock in which stores, to analyze sales trends on their iPads using data, graphics, photos and GPS information about individual products, stores and regions. Buyers can drill into the data to see forecasts, goals and historical trends. The application accesses current data using database and BI software from MicroStrategy.

Guess is ahead of the curve, says David White, an analyst at Aberdeen Group. While many companies want to deploy mobile BI, just 38 percent of 240 companies Aberdeen surveyed are doing it. Small smartphone screens are an obstacle, but one that could be cleared by tablets, White says.