Some day we will tell our grandchildren stories about "hotspots" and the length we would go to just get that moment of connected bliss. How many cups of coffee have you bought just to be able to connect and check your email? How many times have you paid $10.95 to connect for five minutes before a flight to send an important email?

Personally, I know it is getting crazy as there are eight different ways to get in touch with me -- through my office phone, my BlackBerry, email, instant messaging, Facebook, Skype, Twitter and LinkedIn. Our professional and public lives are converging, and more and more, I'm mixing business and leisure communications through many of the same channels. As connectivity options with Wi-Fi, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth and more continue to grow and improve, this trend will certainly continue. For resellers, it presents an opportunity to provide enhanced services, consulting and even integration of these devices and wireless technologies. As the devices become more pervasive in our everyday lives, the challenge of businesses small and large becomes more pronounced.

1.) Wi-Fi. This level of Internet connectivity shook up the PC industry when it became popular 10 years ago or so, changing the way people work and live. It now serves as the connectivity backbone for many companies, and the technology is ubiquitous across a variety of consumer electronics such as laptops, Smartphones, printers and other peripherals. In fact, I choose my coffee shop based on whether it has free Wi-Fi! From a reseller perspective, Wi-Fi offers reduced costs for network deployment and expansion, is good for spaces where cables can't be run and is compatible with devices operating anywhere in the world. The cons are its limited reach and power consumption, but other developing technologies are helping to fill in the gaps.

2.) Bluetooth. While only meant for exchanges between short distances, Bluetooth is used frequently in the SMB and small-office-home office space for connecting several devices, such as laptops, cell phones, printers, GPS and cameras. And with SMB the fastest-growing segment of the PC market right now, choosing products with this feature can help increase a user's satisfaction with their technology. Ultrawide band technology has not taken off like Bluetooth, but offers similar short range benefits in connecting devices.

3.) 3G. The buzz right now is really about 3G. Many resellers are advising customers to purchase technologies with 3G connectivity built-in, and if you watch TV, you've probably seen commercials from the major cellular carriers about this, especially if you are an SMB. While still a premium, optional feature on most laptops, more companies are requiring workers to be connected wherever they are and purchasing monthly data plans to enable this "always on" connectivity. Additionally, the flood of netbook devices into the market, with many now being offered through carriers, will help lower the price of this technology in the future. From a $300 netbook to a $3,000 portable workstation, the integration of 3G will likely follow the path of Wi-Fi 10 years ago.

4.) 4G, or WiMAX. This connectivity is coming online in several cities around the U.S., such as Baltimore and Portland. This technology promises higher data speeds than 3G and similar to Wi-Fi, seamless connectivity over large areas and global roaming. Its limited implementation thus far makes it an up and coming technology for resellers to watch and consider for customers who are relatively fixed in service areas. Even if not implementing immediately, resellers would be wise to advise customers to future proof their PCs and other devices with 3G and 4G connectivity.

Before the 'always connected' scenario becomes a reality, resellers should remind their customers to think about seamlessly synching data between devices. Some vendors offer products that automatically synch emails between a laptop and Smartphone even when the laptop is turned off. This offers greater flexibility and less time spent merging data. It may even save you that $10.95 for five minutes in a hotspot to send an email!

5.) Unified Communications (UC). Finally, as we operate in an "on-demand" society where we are -- always on -- UC can help businesses run more efficiently by operating voice, video and data over a common IP infrastructure. Employees can communicate through voice and video conference calls, email and instant messaging across multiple devices. This provides resellers an opportunity to help customers expand their network requirements for VoIP, call set up and call quality management. PC vendors are designing their hardware to work for unified communications as simply as a phone does today. Unified communications offers the ability to increase productivity, helping speed time to market and helping to reduce travel costs.

Exciting times are ahead in this space. While I'm not sure exactly how the story will unfold to our grandchildren, but we all know that the connected world will be "always on."

 

Jay McBain is Director of SMB, Lenovo, North America. He can be reached via email at: jamcbain@lenovo.com.