19 March 2008

RIM's first handheld
BlackBerry wireless e-mail device, launched in 1999, filled an
important gap in the market for secure, enterprise-quality mobile web
messaging.

The BlackBerry spread like wildfire.

Even though
investment in mobile enterprise is growing - an estimate from analysts
Frost & Sullivan sees spending on mobile enterprise rising at a
compound annual rate of 21.3 per cent between 2007 and 2013 -
BlackBerry-type booms are not enjoyed by all new wireless applications
for business markets.

Voice over internet protocol, or VoIP, has
been gaining ground in the enterprise market, as legacy systems are
gradually replaced by their IP-based offspring.