Unfortunately, minimizing the data saved on a hard drive and relying instead on the network has its own problems. Tying users to a telephone line can seriously hamper productivity, and the more resources that valid users can access remotely, the greater the potential risks. Companies that want to control costs and simplify international network access are increasingly moving away from dial-in modem pools and looking to virtual private networks (VPNs)—although what that actually means varies greatly.

Getty Images, a visual content provider, is moving core corporate data off workstations and implementing a network-centric, server-based computer model, with remote access strictly controlled by the VPN. CTO Albers says that right now, the company has a handful of ways mobile users are dialing in—a result of the 25 companies Getty has acquired in the past five years. With the new system, each user will be able to dial in to a service provider that has thousands of access points in dozens of countries. From within the vendor’s network, authenticated users will get a private encrypted line to Getty; all the network traffic will pass through one or two secure connections.

Threshold Of Pain

The level of security required for mobile users really depends on the company and the users. CIOs must achieve a balance between the amount of security a company needs and the time it takes a user to get through that security. "There is this real balance of protecting the data so much that it’s not easy for the users to make use of it," BG Group’s O’Connor says. "That’s a real issue for corporate organizations." Gartner’s Margevicius calls this the threshold of pain, or of inconvenience.

Executives may need to use encryption software, while other employees may not even need network access from their devices. Everyone needs to be reminded—gently but firmly—that no company can have an effective security policy without the end users’ support. "You can’t eliminate the social problems related with security," says Frank Prince, senior analyst of e-business infrastructure at Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. "You can only make a decision about how important security is and try to enforce it as best as you can."