If you thought BlackBerry and mobile device support needs were overwhelming your IT department now, prepare yourself, as it's only going to get worse. According to a recent study, smartphone use for business will almost double from 2008 to 2011, the variety of devices being used will increase, and IT departments will continue to be ill-equipped to handle mobile device support needs.

Yikes. All that, and we're still in a recession.

According to the study, which was sponsored by Zenprise Inc. and published in March by Osterman Research, smartphone use in the enterprise will jump from 23 percent to 46 percent by 2011. Although the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices will continue to dominate the business market, support needs will increase for other platforms such as iPhone and Palm OS.

The report made special note of downtime as a key issue. Because the majority of users are higher-profile employees, such as senior and middle managers, the downtime has a greater effect on an organization's bottom line.

"...Users become so dependent on mobile devices, and others become so dependent on being able to reach them, that downtime can cause serious problems - slower decision-making, slower customer response, etc.," the report states. "Making mobile messaging available 24x7 is as critical, if not more so, than making conventional messaging available."

Lack of resources contributes to increased downtime, but so does a misguided allocation of resources. In the Osterman study, consultants spent the most time handling user-related issues, like passwords and sync problems - not BlackBerry Enterprise Server issues. Yet the organizations continued to dump a hefty amount of money into managing infrastructure. As a result, the IT departments could not handle the level of support required.

What will your organization do come 2011?

Here are three options:

1. You can do what you have been doing - offering spotty mobile device support, and no after-hours coverage.
2. You can invest in hiring and training additional staff to handle mobile device issues, and factor in 24x7 support salaries.
3. Or you can hire an outsourcer who will guarantee full 24x7 support by mobile device specialists. For maximum and early ROI, partner with a company that offers upfront deployment support and training. The end-user can hit the ground running with their new device, and can avoid disruption and downtime completely.

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