This paper looks at how to get the best out of mobile productivity and how to avoid the six most common mobility pitfalls during the planning and execution of mobile implementations.

· Security - The key mobility management challenge.  It must be tight enough to protect the business assets without constraining or deflecting user productivity.  Complex or difficult to use security solutions will at best stifle productivity and at worst encourage users to bypass them.  User attitude and acceptance of responsibility is vital to mobile security - it is literally in their hands.

· Hardware Limitations - System frailties are tiresome at the best of times, but without the opportunity for immediate redress they can become a real drain on user productivity.  Hardware that is too complex and fiddly, easily breaks or is not well suited to the demands of the mobile worker will hinder productivity and impact the success of the overall deployment.

· Applications - Businesses are relying on an increasing number of applications and mobile users need the broad application access and performance as much as deskbound employees.  Managing the variety of software versions and patch levels on mobile devices can prove troublesome.  Furthermore, mobile applications will also need to be deployed and supported on a diverse range of mobile devices, and are frequently subject to intermittent connectivity via wireless networks.

· Connection Reliability - The wireless use of applications cannot rely on uninterrupted connectivity.  Mobile networks have inherently patchy or intermittent coverage and there are a multitude of connectivity options and networks available.  Roaming from one cellular link to another is rarely problematic, but far greater issues arise when moving from one network type to another, say cellular to Wi-Fi as each has very different connection methods.

· Network optimisation - In addition to gaps in coverage, wireless networks have less capacity than wired networks.  Many applications rely on plentiful and constantly available bandwidth, yet not only do mobile users rarely have this luxury, they are also likely to be working in awkward conditions or under time pressures.

· Management - Mobile devices, their contents and their users are more difficult to manage outside the organisation’s boundaries,.  Larger deployments have a greater potential for diversity of device, connection and user requirements, and therefore present far greater management complexity.  In an effort to keep control, too many constraints are often applied, hindering user productivity.