A survey released by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey reports that nearly half of all enterprises currently use 3G  cellular services, and that more than one-third plan on using WiMAX technology within the next year.

The survey, which was conducted among 114 IT decision makers working for companies with at least 1,000 employees, finds that just over 48% of enterprises already use 3G cellular services, and that roughly 22% plan on using them within the next 12 months. Additionally, the survey finds that while less than 10% of enterprises currently use WiMAX services, nearly 37% plan on using it within the next 12 months.

The survey data provides concrete evidence that business users are willing to invest capital in deploying mobile data equipment and services. For instance, a strong majority (69.3%) of enterprise decision makers surveyed say they are already providing their employees with Wi-Fi for data access; in contrast, less than 10% say that they have no plans to deploy Wi-Fi for data access. And even though WiMAX services aren’t expected to be available on a widespread basis until later this year, more than 46% of decision makers polled say they already use or plan to use the technology within the next year.

The major reasons for deploying mobile enterprise applications, the survey finds, include increased employee productivity and increased employee availability, as more than 80% of enterprise users list both of them as key reasons for using more mobile technologies. Only 36% of decision makers polled say that cost savings are a factor in their decision to use enterprise mobile applications.

Additionally, more than half of enterprise decision makers polled list data security as their most pressing concern for wireless data technology, and more than two-thirds report that deploying Wi-Fi broadly within their organization makes them more vulnerable to security breaches.

Wireless security has increasingly become a bigger priority for enterprises as more employees are working from home and connecting to corporate data via corporate VPNs, thus giving companies less and less control over where their employees can gain access to sensitive information. As Perri Nejib, CTO for Lockheed Martin Information Systems, told Network World recently, a corporate IT network now “moves with the individual to their living room, hotel room, car and coffee shop.”