Businesses slow to back wireless

Wireless and mobile will account for between 20 and 25 per cent of total web transactions by 2003, according to a new report.

The research, produced by analyst Meta, predicts that wireless and mobile will form a higher proportion of all transactions in the business-to-consumer areas (25 per cent) than business-to-business (20 per cent).

The report also suggests that companies are investing in wireless for specific business-critical applications rather than to push back the borders of the new technology.

Jack Gold, a vice president at Meta, said: "This year's study shows that budget expenditures for wireless initiatives still represent a low percentage of overall IT budgets. Few companies are investing in wireless technologies for technology's sake.

The most popular wireless projects are pilot schemes focusing on business-to-employee applications, the report said. Vendors will have to support a wide range of products from smart phones through PDAs to notebooks, Meta said.

Gold added that he thought investment in wireless would stay at low levels for the next couple of years. "We expect the ultimate recovery of the economy to re-ignite interest in wireless technologies. In the meantime, the next couple of years will be a 'go slow' time for most organisations," he explained.