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June 23, 1999

The Mobile Infrastructure

As use of notebooks increases, so does the demand for security and support

By Tom Davey and Amy K. Larsen

Related links:

Mobile Benefits

And from our sister publications:

Windows Magazine Goin' Mobile

Computer Reseller News Mobile PCs

ore than half of PricewaterhouseCoopers' 160,000 employees use notebook computers, and the proportion of notebook to desktop PC users continues to grow. To accommodate those users, most of whom travel frequently or work in other countries, the consulting services firm is establishing a global network that will let employees communicate among its 900 offices.

Notebook use is also growing at Intel, which plans to convert 80% of its 50,000 desktop PC users to notebooks by the end of next year--including employees who don't travel frequently. In fact,

Intel wants notebook users to have wireless intranet access from almost anywhere on its campuses. CIO Louis Burns is convinced that nearly all Intel employees will be more productive with a notebook than a desktop PC.

Both companies face the same challenge: The growth of notebook usage is forcing them to revamp their IT architectures to support a mobile workforce. And they're not alone. Many companies are rapidly expanding the use of notebook computers among the ranks and are grappling with infrastructure issues. For many, providing employees with easy and secure access to company networks is a primary goal, which they're achieving through newer technologies such as wireless networks and virtual private networks. Some companies are standardizing on one or two brands and models to keep maintenance costs down as notebook usage spreads. And they're addressing notebook support in a variety of ways, ranging from the use of remote-management software to expansion or redistribution of IT staff.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is under pressure to find better ways to manage not only notebooks but critical company data that travels between notebooks and company offices. About 80,000 employees are mobile and typically work at hotel rooms or reserve space as needed at the firm's offices worldwide. PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to implement a virtual private network--a private network configured within a public network--to provide notebook users with secure access to its data. The firm is testing this VPN at offices in North America and is preparing to roll out the network to 70,000 workers in North America and Great Britain at the rate of 3,000 per week.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is also staffing its offices with IT workers who speak multiple languages, so visiting notebook users are more likely to find someone they can talk to for technical support. That's been a problem for employees with notebook support needs that arise outside the business hours of their home offices. "If you're in a hotel room in Taiwan, you're not going to call your office in Oklahoma," says Michael Schoenholtz, a partner who oversees global IT support strategies. Intel's goal is to provide its mobile users with constant intranet access via a wireless LAN, a capability it's testing at its Folsom, Calif., campus. "You can see people at a table in the cafeteria working off the Web," says Burns. Intel expects to have wireless LANs in all its cafeterias and conference rooms by early next year.

A number of factors are creating a surge in notebook usage, including company globalization, the increase in telecommuting workers, and the development of Internet-based networks that broaden access to company information. Dataquest Inc. estimates the number of notebooks sold worldwide will almost double in four years, from about 16.8 million units sold this year to 28.6 million in 2003.

Companies are setting notebook management and support guidelines early in the acquisition and implementation stages. They're finding that standardizing on a few models helps lower maintenance costs by reducing parts inventories and the IT training required to support numerous types of notebooks. Standardizing also means there are fewer types of notebooks to track.