It's a strange contradiction that modern business relies more than ever on real time communication and yet, also more than ever, often has key personnel remote from the office and, thus, less accessible for communication!

Fortunately the growing power of technology has created many solutions to this problem; solutions suited to most tasks and most fields of operation. The real problem is not keeping in touch with travelling executives; it's identifying the most appropriate means for the job, for the time and for their location.

No reader will be surprised to read that the equipment needed to keep in touch with remote teams is already in their briefcase - a mobile phone and a PC. However, having stated the obvious, I must go on to urge that, before settling on any particular system or combination of systems with which to keep in touch, there are a few things to consider.

Mobile phone service providers offer a range of different tariffs for different usage profiles. The lowest rentals advertised are aimed at very light users, and include high call charges; not really suitable for anyone using the phone as part of their work unless they are only going to receive calls and, even then, you need to check for charges on calls received. Most business users will benefit from a higher rental but low call charge package. And there are packages available that offer a large number of calls within the rental charge which might well be suitable for someone whose call times do not vary much from month to month.

Keep those hands free

Having decided on the right tariff, you will need to settle on a suitable handset plus accessories such as hands free. Hands free still means an in car kit to many people but there are also hands free options for ordinary users. The best car kits are integrated with the radio so that an incoming call interrupts the radio, allowing the driver to take the call by simply pressing a button on the steering wheel. There are also a number of hands free kits that attach to the user or their clothing.

The other current mobile phone gimmick is the camera. Don't simply dismiss this as a toy. For some users, surveyors, insurance assessors and even broadcast journalists, a camera equipped phone can send or receive, albeit crude, images to or from base to speed up decisions or add life to a scoop.

For users who are likely to operate in the USA a lot, make sure that their mobile is able to operate on all systems; also, don't forget to ensure that those who regularly travel overseas have international 'roaming' activated on their connection.

Has texting come of age?

And don't dismiss text messages. They're quick and can be sent and received with much weaker signals (such as might be encountered on a train or off the motorway) than full voice communications require. They can also be sent from land line telephones and PCs to, for instance, alert travellers to the arrival of new messages on their office voicemail. And, for people who regularly travel off the beaten track to areas where mobile telephone systems cannot reach, the satellite phone is a viable alternative. The final device not to dismiss is the pager, offering a discreet and easy to read means of getting brief messages to users

Nowadays, telephoning is much easier from places where you might never have been able to use them before. Trains and even aeroplanes offer their own telephones to first and business class passengers as standard and for other passengers on request.

There is no reason today why travelling personnel cannot use email. All that they will need is a PC and a connection. Most people carry laptop PCs but handheld devices are becoming increasingly popular and some users prefer a tablet PC. All can send and receive emails or faxes as long as they are fitted with a link to a telephone network. It used to be that the link required a modem and access to a landline but the modem soon shrunk to a card and now to an internal wireless device that can either communicate through the user's own mobile phone or through one of the growing number of 'hot-spots' being established at places where business travellers can be found, such as airports, railway stations and hotels. Just be careful of the security aspects. To avoid having the mobile phone engaged while handling emails, some users will benefit from having a datacard, with its own mobile telephone connection, installed in their PC.

Travelling users can send or receive messages by a variety of means and even participate in conferences using a combination of PC and mobile telephone.

And a coffee to go

Last but not least, the Internet café provides a cheap means of handling email or fax communications that are not especially sensitive or commercially valuable. It also has the advantage that it is a café.

The main consideration for travelling personnel is usually security. If particularly sensitive material has to be exchanged, consider using a two part security device that not only encrypts the message but also includes a key in the receiving machine, without which the message cannot be opened by anyone.

These days, personnel on the road can always be in touch with their base and vice-versa; it's just a matter of using the right devices for their job and where they are going.