The cross-discipline team quickly identified a number of independent projects that were, without coordination, tackling various parts of the mobility problem. These included the planned corporate desktop PC refresh, a project to support teleworkers, and a pandemic-preparation plan to enable staff to work remotely in case of an outbreak such as the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis in Toronto. The team leveraged elements of these projects.

Step 2 -- Know what you want to accomplish

The key criteria was that laptops, and their users, were no longer to be treated as "orphans of the enterprise network" with a subset of the features available to desktop users, Doyle says. Instead, they were to become extensions of the enterprise, with the necessary applications, connectivity, management tools, remote control and security.

The intent was to leverage the familiarity of the desktop PC experience, McNulty says. Instead of relying on Microsoft Outlook Web Access for browser-based e-mail access, the mobile office would make use of the full laptop-based Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 client. With the latter, when connected to EDC, users had full access to all Outlook functions and service for e-mail, contacts, calendars and tasks, including EDC's own RSS feeds. When disconnected, they could still be productive working with downloaded e-mail messages and the like, McNulty says. Office Outlook 2007 also enables future integration with Microsoft Office Communications Server for instant messaging, video conferencing and online presence.

Similarly, the mobile office team planned to replace Web-based access to files and folders on corporate drives with direct access.

Finally, EDC deployed Citrix Presentation Server (since rebranded as Citrix XenApp). The vendor now positions XenApp as a virtualization product line. The software lets EDC's mobile employees work directly with server and desktop applications on the enterprise network.

Step 3 -- Figure out what kind of wireless connectivity users need and how you'll manage it

The mobile office team decided on a range of wireless options, depending on the user's profile. Some may have only Wi-Fi, others may have Wi-Fi along with a plug-in cellular card and a tailored data plan from a mobile carrier.

"We profiled the [job] positions within EDC, so depending on your profile, this determines the mobile computing requirements," McNulty says.

Bell Mobility offered a cellular card, the Novatel Wireless Merlin X720 ExpressCard, bundled with client software from its partner Trellia Networks, for automating and managing all forms of laptop network access, including dial-up, Ethernet, wireless LAN (WLAN) and 3G cellular. One control: the cellular cards are enabled only for use within Canada, not overseas.