Multiply that scenario by the number of devices available -- cell phones, handhelds, and lesser MP3 players -- times the number of workers storing and accessing proprietary company information "in the wild," as Philippe Winthrop, research director for wireless and mobility at Aberdeen Group, puts it in his report "Enterprise Mobile Adoption: A Corporate Conundrum," and you will quickly understand the need to rein in mobile devices through a comprehensive mobile management strategy.

It should be noted that the Aberdeen study was sponsored by four companies in the mobile industry: Sprint, Mobile Armor, Integrated Mobile, and HTC. One hundred and fifty enterprises were surveyed.

Security is not the No. 1 reason companies have hesitated in deploying mobile devices. According to the study, 72 percent of those who have no plans to adopt a mobile strategy cited an unproven business case for mobility as the reason they were holding off. Cost of services was the second gating factor, at 44 percent; security third, at 40 percent.

Among those who are deploying a mobile strategy, however, security is at the top of the list of concerns. The problem is that you can't really have a good security policy for mobile unless it is part of your overall strategy, Winthrop says.

"There is a technology component, a legal component, and a human-factor component, and all three have their own shares of risk," Winthrop warns. Of course, it's a lot easier to manage mobile devices and policies if the gateway to adoption is the organization, and not devices that came directly from beneath the Christmas tree to the office desktop. After all, as Winthrop says, you can't manage what you can't see.