One of the perceived benefits of mobile unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) that first caught my attention was the ability for an employee to use his own cell phone to make and receive company calls, but keep his private mobile number secret from business contacts. At first blush this appeared to be one of the key capabilities that could allow customer-facing employees to enjoy the benefits of BYOD without the concern that their business contacts might hound them if at inappropriate times or if they left the company.

Yes, you've heard it here first. Institutional laziness is (at least partly) to blame for the bring-your-own-device movement. Wrong devices were purchased, resulting in a management/executive/employee revolt. The response was, "If you don't like it, then bring your own." While many IT department heads claim that BYOD was forced upon them, they created the situation, allowed it to grow and built policies to at first tolerate and now to fully "support".

There’s the argument that you need to upgrade your mobile phone or tablet frequently to stay hip and so you can take advantage of the latest advantages of wireless technology. Then there’s the pocketbook factor.

Virtual private networks (VPNs) of various types have been around for a long time in wired WANs. It's only been within the past few years that mobile data loads have begun rivaling those that wired networks can support.