[Yankee Group forecasts US demand for wireless corporate email will grow to over nine million users in 2007.]

Boston -- According to its new report, "Enterprise Wireless E-Mail Options Are Plentiful, but Not Perfected," wireless e-mail represents an early opportunity for mobile data services in the enterprise. The Yankee Group finds that in the near term, corporations will deploy wireless e-mail selectively, granting access only to key employees, such as executives, salespeople, and IT staff. Wireless e-mail will not become as pervasive as it is within a fixed environment, but the decreasing cost of devices, wireless network connectivity, and IT administration and support will speed adoption within enterprises over the next 5 to 7 years.

"Vendors offering wireless e-mail solutions today have developed products that present enterprises with deployment options," says Eugene Signorini, Yankee Group Wireless/Mobile Enterprise & Commerce senior analyst. "However, vendors need to design solutions that offer more user-friendly interfaces, support for emerging next-generation and Wi-Fi networks, more robust offline capabilities, and multiple synchronization."

"Enterprises must evaluate user needs to identify solutions appropriate for their employees; in many cases, a combination of solutions will be appropriate," Signorini says. "Ultimately, enabling wireless e-mail will be only one part of a corporate mobility strategy. Additional applications will operate alongside mobile e-mail, and both vendors and enterprises need to remember that when making technology decisions."

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