That could all change, however, if the much-hyped iPhone jump-starts the market as the iPod did for the MP3 market. In-Stat's Hughes is hedging his bets for now. "I believe the iPhone will be moderately successful," he says, "but I don't believe they'll get 1 percent of the phone market."

What's a CIO To Do?
CIOs trying to fix their existing mobile environment have lots of work ahead of them. According to Rizzo's estimates, less than 5 percent of the Global 2000) have been early deployers of customer-facing applications and Web tools for mobile devices. Around 20 percent are moving ahead with "serious levels" of mobility, and another 25 percent are "thinking about it but are going to sit back and move in 2008," Rizzo says. The other 50 percent are not doing much of anything. Rizzo's advice: "Get mobility religion. If you don't, you're going to find yourself even further behind than you are today."

Looming on the horizon are 4G services, including WiMax, the broadband wireless technology that allows faster transmissions of voice, data, music and video. And devices are changing as well. Smaller, cheaper handsets and the new ultramobile PCs will soon find their way onto the CIO's network.

At UPS, Reid says that while customers are demanding more wireless services, "the business case has to be there." His rule of thumb: every enhancement to the wireless services should drive additional packages and, thereby, increase revenue. In addition, each decision is made on a country-by-country basis.

"There are services being introduced in certain parts of the world that won't be offered here," Reid says. For example, Asian customers want to receive billing information on wireless devices. So far, that's not the case in the United States. To make sure the right UPS services are targeted, the company surveys customers about wireless preferences, asks its sales force about trends they are seeing, consults with research companies like Forrester and eMarket, and works with the wireless carriers that provide the services.

"Our customers are starting to demand much more flexibility with the information," Reid says. And whether they're at home, at the office or on the road, "they want to be an arm's length away from the tracking and wireless capabilities."

Fidelity's Ferra is also feeling that same level of mobile demand, especially the need for speed. He says the attention span of a mobile customer is far less than someone on a PC. "I like to say that we need to deliver the information before the light turns green," he says.