Sort out your Wi-Fi policy or face the consequences

With Wi-Fi shaping up as the next must-have technology for business people out of the office, experts are warning that companies must get their wireless policies and security straight - or face the consequences.

Analyst house Gartner predicts that the number of hot spot users will rise to 30 million worldwide this year, up from 9.3 million users in 2003. With hot spots rolling out in business friendly locations such as train stations, hotels and even on planes, corporate users look set to play no small part in that growth.
Gartner recommends that companies should put Wi-Fi security in place before the WLAN boom begins, advocating a firewall and secure VPN login for remote access as a key pillar of any strategy.

But it's not just the security issues surrounding Wi-Fi that could damage a business - it's cheeky employees exploiting Wi-Fi costs when they submit their expenses.

Given that by the close of 2004, half of all business-orientated notebooks will be Wi-Fi enabled, according to Gartner, getting a service provider onboard is vital in stopping out-of-office access costs spiralling out of control.