So just what devices should CIOs roll out? Today’s untethered knowledge worker usually needs a wireless laptop, and a handheld and cell phone—or a smart phone. Sales of mobile PCs, PDAs and phones grew 66 percent in 2004, according to In-Stat/MDR, and 90 percent of laptop PCs are now shipped with WLAN cards. Also appearing on the CIO’s radar: camera phones, tablet PCs, Wi-Fi broadband connections for home workers, handheld scanners and RFID devices, and new hybrid Wi-Fi/cell phones arriving in North America from Asia.

Clearly, CIOs have a lot of options and need to decide which device will work best, what capabilities are needed, what security features will be critical and where the hidden costs lie.

For example, David Rensin, CEO of wireless and mobile consultancy Reality Mobile, says that the first step most companies take is to offer a wireless e-mail solution, frequently the BlackBerry. What happens next is that one group in the company will decide that having access to, say, the CRM system through a Treo device would really improve productivity. And then you end up with what Rensin calls “mixed deployments” in which the various devices don’t share a common infrastructure. BlackBerrys require a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, while Treos usually use a GoodLink server. Rensin says that’s why the deployment of multiple device types can double costs.

On the flip side, Burton Group’s Maiwald says, while handhelds have a number of communication options, not all of them may be necessary. For example, a device that a salesman for a distribution company uses to take orders from customers may not need WLAN connectivity if the orders can be synchronized when the salesman returns to the office. “The added communication capability may introduce a higher cost and [security] risk without materially benefiting the organization,” Maiwald asserts.

Decide Who Tests What and When

Deciding who should be in the beta testing group is just as important as what device the group will test. “The first group of guys [in the beta test] is always the technology savvy, geeky testers,” Rensin says. “That’s usually a recipe for disaster.” The problem is that the geeks will troubleshoot problems on their own and make sure whatever you give them works. “The last guy you want to do the testing is the technology geeky guy,” Rensin says.

CIOs should divide their users into buckets. Here’s how Rensin breaks it down: First, the techno-geek power users. Second, the adventurers willing to try the new gadget. Third, the executive and management ranks. And fourth, the Luddites who will probably fight using it all the way. Then, take a small group (anywhere from 3 percent to 5 percent of the total) from two of the buckets—the adventurers and executive/managers—train them, and have them test the device over a couple of weeks, using it for at least 15 minutes a day. Next, survey them regularly about how the device is working. Here CIOs can look for patterns in features that aren’t working. If all goes well, then CIOs can start rolling out to the other buckets, saving the power users—the geeks—for last.