Ben_2 Silva_2 With this week’s announcement of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry 8820, the field of enterprise devices using Wi-Fi for voice calls continues to grow. In this model, where devices use either cellular or Wi-Fi networks for voice calls, network utilization takes on a new form. Duke University recently learned how an influx of devices can cripple the network with only a small number of devices.

Is your network ready to support the multitude of devices that will soon be utilizing it? As smartphones, PDAs, laptops, and tablets all compete for the same bandwidth on the corporate network, is your infrastructure ready to support the potential surge in usage? Duke’s example, while extreme and due to somewhat rare technical constraints, illustrates the potential for previously unimaginable network support issues facing IT operations professionals.

Planning for bandwidth, Wi-Fi coverage, network resiliency, and even network security must take into account the myriad devices that will soon populate the corporate network. The job of coordinating these efforts should also be centralized within IT, ensuring that decisions in one area coincide with those made in another.

By Benjamin Gray and Chris Silva.

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