364 U Varshney et al approaches may not be used to address wireless in the enterprise environment. Therefore, it is both important and interesting to group together several approaches to conduct research in wireless in the enterprise environment. We present several such approaches here. and we believe that this in not an exhaustive list. 4 Framework One possible approach to conduct research is to divide different functions to each of the several entities involved. Such an approach is inspired by a proposed framework for m-commerce [8]. Since it involves multiple functional layers, it development of m-commerce applications and infrastructure, and so different parties (vendors, providers, designers, etc. )can focus on individual layers( Figure 7) Figure 7 A framework for m-commerce [81 Developer and Provider plane User Plane Mobile Commerce Applications Wireless User Infrastructure Mobile middleware Wireless Network Infrastructure Using the framework, a single entity is not forced to do everything to build mobile commerce systems: rather, it can build on the functionalities provided by others Although the framework was proposed for m-commerce, we believe that this can be extended easily to cover issues in wireless in the enterprise. The mobile commerce life cycle [8] can also be used to describe and manage interactions among multiple players including vendors, wireless service providers, third party wireless providers, security providers, customers, businesses and regulators 4.2 Competitive forces model Another approach to conduct research in wireless enterprise environment is to use a competitive forces model [9] as shown in Figure 8. This is a widely studied model and can be used in how market competition could affect the wireless strategy of a business Another way to conduct research in this area is by using competitive advantage factors [10]. It includes five major factors to measure the effectiveness of IT application in providing competitive advantage to a company. These five factors are synergy (technology's integration with business goals, strategies and environment) preemptiveness(early and successful preemption of the market), threat(bargaining power of the customers and the suppliers), functionality(differentiation in products and services of a company) and efficiency(use of technology to reduce cost in functional areas)364 U. Varshney et al. approaches may not be used to address wireless in the enterprise environment. Therefore, it is both important and interesting to group together several approaches to conduct research in wireless in the enterprise environment. We present several such approaches here, and we believe that this in not an exhaustive list. 4.1 Framework One possible approach to conduct research is to divide different functions to each of the several entities involved. Such an approach is inspired by a proposed framework for m-commerce [8]. Since it involves multiple functional layers, it simplifies the design and development of m-commerce applications and infrastructure, and so different parties (vendors, providers, designers, etc.) can focus on individual layers (Figure 7). Figure 7 A framework for m-commerce [8] Using the framework, a single entity is not forced to do everything to build mobile commerce systems; rather, it can build on the functionalities provided by others. Although the framework was proposed for m-commerce, we believe that this can be extended easily to cover issues in wireless in the enterprise. The mobile commerce life cycle [8] can also be used to describe and manage interactions among multiple players including vendors, wireless service providers, third party wireless providers, security providers, customers, businesses and regulators. 4.2 Competitive forces model Another approach to conduct research in wireless enterprise environment is to use a competitive forces model [9] as shown in Figure 8. This is a widely studied model and can be used in how market competition could affect the wireless strategy of a business. Another way to conduct research in this area is by using competitive advantage factors [10]. It includes five major factors to measure the effectiveness of IT application in providing competitive advantage to a company. These five factors are synergy (technology’s integration with business goals, strategies and environment), preemptiveness (early and successful preemption of the market), threat (bargaining power of the customers and the suppliers), functionality (differentiation in products and services of a company) and efficiency (use of technology to reduce cost in functional areas)