ons, get information and order new services and products is another example. Internet Information Application/web services and retrieval content provisioning Customers E/m-business Enterprise E-business, Partners Call centre voice Inter-site Remote access networking Business process support Branch Employees offices Figure 2.8 Enterprise communication needs - customers End-User Needs and Demands Employees Employees are frankly a heavy investment for enterprises. It is therefore of utmost impor- tance that they can work effectively and don't feel frustrated by lack of access to people or information. The employees of today are normally mobile in their operations. They may move around in the same city where the enterprise is located or travel nationally or inter- nationally. In all cases they must be in anytime, anywhere contact with their company. Remote access is crucial. They need to talk with secretaries, experts and SO on within the company. The mobile phone or communicator is their tool. They need to get access to information in company databases inside the firewalls that sort out authorized persons from hackers and other non-authorized persons to get access to sensible information. We should also note that enterprises increasingly strive for a 'slim' organization, hiring experts for time-limited projects. The core competence is, however, kept within the com- pany by permanently employed people. Typically if the permanent employees are counted in hundreds, experts in the enterprise's contact network may be counted in thousands. The experts may work for more than one company in parallel. This poses the question 'Which persons should get access to what information and when?' Security mechanisms and administration of these are vital in order to avoid information leaks. Branch offices Branch offices operate as a local business partner to customers and are also a sensor for what is happening in that market. Effective inter-site networking for communication and access to information is critical. The ideal situation 