In the next five years the wireless industry will evolve into a high performance, security-driven mobile marketplace in order to cater to the needs of the enterprise, according to a quarterly report prepared by Deloitte & Touche LLP and Deloitte Consulting LCC.

In this issue of ‘Technology Trends’ a section is devoted to the examination of trends in the wireless world. It explores such hot topics as Cutting: Loose: Tools for a Mobile World—WAP; all-in-one devices; Bluetooth; wireless Internet for cars; and privacy issues related to wireless devices and location-based services.

Among industry experts contributing to the report the consensus was ‘technology expenditures are too vital to defer for too long.’ "Whether it’s new power sources for handheld devices or better methods for delivering broadband Internet access," remarked Mark Evans, managing director of technology and communications practices at Deloitte & Touche, "technology is a strategic linchpin in the world’s most successful enterprises. According to the authors of the report, the evolution to wireless technologies will drive all facets of the technology industry."

The report examines two evolving areas, among others, in the wireless industry: handheld computing and security issues.

Handheld computing
"The biggest evolution will be the flowering of handheld computing," said Michael Mace, vice president and chief competitive officer of Palm, Inc. "We expect handheld devices to be more popular than PCs in five years—not because PCs will go away, but because more people need to access and manage information than need to create it."

Security Issues
The CEO of RSA Security Art Coviello encouraged companies to adopt data privacy and integrity, strong authentication and non-repudiation in wireless environments to safeguard their assets. He added that biometrics, a means of identifying the users via iris scanners, handheld-geometry devices, and voice recognition, is a promising alternative, as it provides a high level of security as well as is convenient to use.

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