Today's software was not designed with the mobile user in mind. Current enterprise software doesn't know how to shift into "offline" mode and keep working when we're between wireless hubs.

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by Chris S. Thomas, Intel e-Strategist, Intel Corp.

The mobile revolution has kept its promise: we're road warriors and there's no going back. And the visionaries among us recognize the opportunity presented by a mobile workforce.

Unfortunately, today's software was not designed with the mobile user in mind. Case in point: We can't take the elevator up one floor without confusing our network connection and flummoxing our open applications. Current enterprise software doesn't know how to shift into "offline" mode and keep working when we're between wireless hubs.

Right now, creative developers hold the power to change the world by building the infrastructure on which the future depends. (Remember that when negotiating your next pay raise.)

As I see it, we have three major new considerations in how we design software. A mobile world means:

• Regular network interruptions
• No tolerance for latency
• Emphasis on cooperation (among applications and among programmers).

Intermittent connection vs. persistent connection
In the past, enterprise applications could assume that PCs were wired to the wall and employees' butts were glued to their chairs. But this "persistent connection" model no longer supports the way we work.

Laptops have liberated us. Instead of running cat-5 cable to every cubicle, we install a wireless NIC in every computer. We carry our machines with us to meetings, across campus and outside. Trying to work this way with today's software forces us into a dichotomy. Sit still and your applications work; move around and these same applications fail at random.

For example, depending on your network design, you might have to recycle applications when you leave one wireless hub's range and enter another. At Intel, IT's current policy is for users to shut down their e mail clients before changing locations and to re-open e mail when they arrive at a destination, except when working in offline mode.

In a wireless world, interrupted connections are the norm. If software can't deal with it, users start to wonder what's going wrong. They call tech support asking why they got a "server not found" error message for a Web site that was there 10 minutes ago, or why they get a "server timed out" message when trying to retrieve e mail. (Even without the mobility challenges, there's an entire Internet subculture built around "HTTP 1.1 404 Error" messages.) After a mutually frustrating troubleshooting session, it comes out that the user has changed locations and the solution is simply a matter of shutting down the software and starting it again.

Recycling these applications every time you move is a pain, and tech support is expensive. Calculate the number of refreshes experienced by employees and managers all the way up to the CxO level, especially on a meeting-heavy day. When will this pain point merit solving the problem?