Another control: the Trellia software integrates a range of the most popular VPN clients, from vendors such as Aventail, Check Point, Cisco and Nortel. "One struggle was identifying which networks belonged to EDC, which then determines if the VPN client needed to be activated. Trellia does this smoothly, it just figures it out," Doyle says. "It allows us to maintain our security posture."

(Compare client management products.)

With the Trellia Policy Manager application, IT staff can set connection policies that are enforced on the laptop automatically by the Trellia Mobility Client, without requiring decisions or actions by the users. Trellia supplants the underlying proprietary connect managers, such as Intel PROSet Wireless or Microsoft Windows Zero Configuration, and controls the various hardware interfaces directly. For example, when a user is at an EDC office, Trellia policies can force the laptop to use the office WLAN, blocking use of the far more expensive cellular link.

A user can eject his laptop from a desktop expansion base at headquarters, shift to the corporate  WLAN, shift again to a cellular connection when they leave a building, to a VPN connection via a Wi-Fi hotspot at a coffee shop, and then back to corporate WLAN at a remote office -- all automatically and with all the appropriate safeguards enabled. "One goal was to take these decisions away from the client [the user] and make them happen automatically and seamlessly," Doyle says.

Gartner Vice President of Mobile Computing, Ken Dulaney, is sold on products like Trellia (he's a Trellia user), Lenovo's ThinkVantage AccessConnections, and Ipass' IpassConnect Mobility Manager. "Enterprises aren't sure they're looking for this [kind of capability]," he says. "They don't know how much it can benefit them. I'd say to every customer, 'you've got to have this.'"

Network World blogger Craig Mathias likes the emphasis Trellia places on automatically managing, for the enterprise, an array of complex client-specific issues.  

Step 4 -- Pick client hardware and software that meets the user requirements

The project team shortlisted seven laptop or tablet PCs for consideration, and gave groups of users the chance to test drive the equipment in a demo room, after which they filled out a written evaluation rating each package.

EDC decided on the HP Compaq 2710p notebook, which HP originally marketed as a tablet PC (the screen twists, converting into either tablet or notebook form factors), with a 'downgrade' from Windows Vista to Windows XP. "We had a lot of experience and reliability with XP," Doyle says.