What I Learned About Business Travel on the Way to the Taj Mahal

physically, mentally and financially. However you're not putting demands only on yourself. You're as well asking a lot from your mobile innovation.

Three-week business trip to Delhi

We recently returned from a three-week business trip to Delhi, India. With about 884 million cell phone users, the country is digitally advanced in some places. However in other areas, we found limited access to research, as so then as some security concerns.

1. Web phone options might not be reliable. You might be tempted to try to avoid global roaming charges by using online alternatives. Nevertheless there's no simple substitute for your mobile phone and the identity that comes with it.

One of the alternatives is Voice over Internet Protocol -- VoIP -- which routes phone calls over the Internet. VoIP applications include Microsoft-owned Skype and Sweden-based Rebtel. Even though these services can work in certain circumstances, they require web or data access that may be limited or unavailable. Most VoIP options as well require a second number or user name, which means customers and employees must be told to contact you using your international VoIP identity.

More often than not, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) didn't work on our trip. Calls went unanswered when company web phones could not be connected to the Internet either over cellular data connections or WiFi. Customers refused to answer calls from unknown web numbers. Often, our only choice was to make or receive calls using a known business phone number.

2. In-country data roaming options as a rule work. For short business trips, in-country data roaming can be a convenient and potentially safer option than unfamiliar -- and possibly unsecured -- local wireless networks.

We used San Diego-based XCom Global, which rents personal wireless hotspots and USB modems to connect to wireless data networks in 195 different countries. What you get is on-demand, portable Internet access. You can rent modems by the day with unlimited data included.

3. Global cloud computing has its pros and cons.  Cloud-based tools just as Google Apps worked then for us when there was reliable web connectivity. Nevertheless even at that time, many collaborative features didn't function. When editing documents in real time in Google Docs, for instance, we noticed that our changes weren't being saved, some updates didn't go through, and keeping track of who had made changes to a file was difficult.

4. Security must be a priority. Depending on your travel destination, local Wi-Fi and shared networks may be risky. As a rule, you should try to avoid unsecured networks in cafés and hotels where hackers could gain access to your company data.

Public network

If you do connect to a public network, access only your basic accounts, just as email, and avoid using the same password for different accounts. Don't handle banking matters, pay credit cards or interact with other web-based financial tools over public networks. Instead, rely on a spouse or trusted colleague at home if you need access to critical information. Even at the time, try to call from a secure cell phone to tell them what you need. When you return home, it's a good idea to change all of your passwords in case hackers got access to any of them.

Bottom line: Once you get the hang of how web and phone tools work internationally, you can travel abroad with much less worry about research impeding or endangering your work.