Mobile technology is moving forward at a rapid pace. Companies are providing mobility and access to infrastructure in order to increase the efficiency of their workforce.

Partnerships such as that between Google and Motorola, as well as between Microsoft and various manufacturers, suggest that industry leaders are pushing the technology. The launch of GPRS, EDGE and 3G in South Africa emphasises the degree to which mobility has permeated the corporate space.

And costs are relatively low because one only pays for the data downloaded. Even with 3G, EDGE, Sentech and iBurst, the laptop user can be in touch any time, upon any applications and anywhere. Your office is basically following you! More software vendors are releasing software packages for wireless handsets.

For example, Computer Associates has a mobile anti-virus engine and Microsoft has taken mobile security to the next level with software that can remotely wipe all data off a cellphone if the device is stolen.

Technology caters for security. The problem is that people who configure the devices are not always completely knowledgeable about the technology, so they create breaches. In South Africa there is a fortune of unprotected wireless networks that have been set up.

Wireless security generally comes down to how intelligently one uses the technology. To illustrate, many people disable the PIN password on cellphones and just as many users do not have a startup password on their PDAs - the bridge is created by humans!