"Mobility is a good example of 'seeing is believing'-which is why our line-of-business managers are enthusiastic," said Andre Blumberg, technology and architecture manager, ITG, CLP Power Hong Kong. "We typically leverage pilot roll-outs to trial mobile technologies and these trigger innovative new ideas about how they can be used to provide additional business value, [so] it takes time to fully exploit mobile technologies."

Chow said that the first thing Sybase customers examine is operational areas where mobility can create the most business value, then they ask how mobility can impact work flow. "They want to simplify if possible," said IDC's Verma. "It's part of the trend of moving toward real-time business."

Handset and network developments

While business factors are driving adoption, the evolution of mobile technology is clearly the enabling factor, and 2006 has seen some significant developments. "Compared with 2005 we are now offering a lot more choices in terms of mobile devices with 3G and WiFi capabilities suited to enterprise applications," said Nokia's Lam.

Hong Kong's short handset replacement cycle means that company staff are equipping themselves with high-powered smartphones capable of supporting push email, enterprise messaging and other business applications, according to RIM's Lo.