We all know that mobility is having a profound effect on our professional and personal lives and will only play a larger role in the years ahead. It has made us all more productive, whether our jobs are in field service, sales, or manufacturing, whether we're "knowledge workers" or service professionals, whether we're the CEO or the line worker.

For better or worse, our "always-on" lifestyle is already something we take for granted. I recently asked Jim Barrecchia of Atlas Air how he manages to sleep at night with the responsibility of managing a vast network of wireless devices around the world. "I sleep like a baby," he replied. "I wake up every two hours and cry."

Yet, it's already difficult to remember how we ever managed to do our jobs without the plethora of wireless devices available to us today.

Multiply the feelings you have about mobility exponentially, and that gives you an inkling of the effect that wireless communication is having on citizens of developing nations.

As our cover story illustrates, mobility is catapulting vast numbers of people-some of whom are getting by without reliable electricity sources-squarely into the 21st century. It's facilitating a burgeoning microfinance industry, it's helping fishermen and farmers better manage the tried-and-true principles of supply and demand, and it's driving innovation that has global implications.

As we move into 2008 pondering questions such as how to impress the importance of security upon our mobile workforce, what the 700 MHz spectrum auction will mean for U.S. businesses, and whether we should buy into 802.11n infrastructure, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture: We're participating in a technology revolution.

It's more than simply choosing the right mobile solutions for your enterprise, it's about understanding the role these solutions play in changing fundamental human behavior.

SUSAN NUNZIATA
Editor-in-Chief
susann@mobileenterprisemag.com