.KEYWORD office
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCTIVITY SUITES
.TITLE How to choose the best mobile office solution
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY Your company will face some big decisions as you continue to mobilize your workforce. Chief among them will be the difficult task of choosing the mobile office solution that’s right for your business. PalmPower Magazine Contributing Editor Michael Compeau has the facts you need to know before you tackle the problem.
.AUTHOR Michael Compeau
Well, here we are at the real eve of the new millennium (2001), and you’re still ahead of the curve. After all, you’re already reading the newest magazine devoted entirely to helping you leverage Palm computing in order to bolster your firm’s bottom line.
Maybe you’re the cowboy charged with creating "the plan," struggling every day as you try to get a lasso around those wild mustangs in your finance and engineering groups who’ve been bringing Palm-powered devices in the back door for the past few years. Or maybe you’re the lead mustang, hell-bent on galloping on ahead into the future, dragging your staid company into the next millennium. Either way, turning a disparate group of workers with their colorful menagerie of Palm OS devices into a productive and cohesive mobile workforce isn’t quite as daunting as it might first appear. A number of Palm applications are becoming available to turn those PDAs into legitimate enterprise tools and make you shine like the North Star.
.H1 The king of productivity suites
When one begins to think of computing "productivity," it’s important to pay homage to the original, and still king, of productivity suites. When Microsoft introduced its Office suite, integrating the company’s Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and later, Access, tools into one convenient package, it truly revolutionized the way we do our jobs. Today we wonder how we ever managed to do our work prior to the days of drag-and-drop.
.CALLOUT Palm devices are much more than PIMs.
But today’s workforce is increasingly mobile and less tethered to their desktop PCs. Sure, a lot of us take our work on the road with our laptop PCs, but for many, toting a laptop just isn’t worth the trouble. They’re not only heavy and cumbersome but require booting each time we need to use them. For us, our compact Palm devices are doing the trick nicely, thank you very much.
As they come out of the box, many of the handheld devices powered by the Palm OS are often perceived as not much more than computerized versions of the leather-bound organizers we used back in prehistoric times. You know, keeping track of phone numbers and appointments and taking quick notes for later use. But with an ever-increasing supply of software tools for the Palm OS, these devices are truly making mobile workers more productive than ever. Palm devices are much more than PIMs.
IDC estimates that Palm Inc.’s current market share for handheld operating systems is over 80 percent. Though Microsoft has tried to knock Palm off its pedestal with its Windows CE (now known as Pocket PC) operating system, handheld computers powered by Microsoft simply haven’t caught on with the market.
The Pocket PC platform has some distinct advantages with its built-in Pocket Word and Pocket Excel software, its OS capabilities, and its speed of floating point calculations. However, the choice of a tool for use within a corporate environment has always been best focused on usability and support factors rather than on bells and whistles. Not surprisingly, Palm devices are still the overwhelming choice.
The result? Microsoft’s Windows is the reigning king of the desktop while the Palm OS is king of the handheld. Despite any initial beliefs you might have that your "Microsoft shop" in the back-office might be stressed by co-existence with Palm OS mobile solutions, the two are, in reality, remarkably compatible.
Thanks to a few foresighted developers in the Palm Economy, there are already some products on the market to help you as you take on the Zen of seamless integration between these two leading platforms. In particular, I’d like to provide some insight into solutions that can integrate Palm devices with the most frequently used desktop applications, our old friends the word processor, the spreadsheet, and the database.
.H1 The dream: an office in your palm
The three core components of a desktop "office" suite that translate well to the Palm device and offer significant usefulness are spreadsheets, word processors, and databases. As it was in the world of desktop PCs prior to the introduction of Microsoft Office, there are currently a host of independent Palm OS applications that strive to offer as much productivity punch as their desktop cousins.
.H2 Spreadsheets
In the functional spreadsheet category, key players include Solutions in Hand’s MiniCalc (at http://www.solutionsinhand.com), Cutting Edge Software’s Quicksheet (at http://www.cesinc.com/quicksheet/index.html), and Iambic’s TinySheet (at http://www.iambic.com/pilot/tinysheet3/), which is pictured in Figure A.
.FIG A TinySheet 3.0 has full color support.
DataViz’s Documents To Go Professional suite (at http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/index.html) also includes a fine spreadsheet viewer, and they have recently added some limited cell editing capabilities.
.H2 Word processors
The word processor has yet to be fully realized on the Palm platform. Our expectations for word processing have changed a great deal in the past ten years since the era of Uniplex and blue screen WordPerfect and WordStar. In the Palm OS realm, these applications are more aptly known as DOC readers/editors. Some of the most well-known solutions are Cutting Edge Software’s Quickword (previously known as SmartDoc at http://www.cesinc.com/quickword/index.html), Megasoft’s MegaDoc (at http://megasoft2000.tripod.com), Aportis’ AportisDoc (at http://www.aportis.com), and Qvadis’ Express Reader GT (at http://www.qvadis.com/expressreader/gt.html), which is pictured in Figure B.
.FIG B With Express Reader GT, you can search for a specific word or phrase.
Recently, DataViz also added limited editing functions to the WordView application in their Documents To Go Professional suite.
Of these, only MegaDoc, pictured in Figure C, offers some support for Rich Text Formatting.
.FIG C MegaDoc offers some support for Rich Text Formatting.
Quickword doesn’t offer support for formatting such as bold, italics, or underlining in the current version, though it’s promised in a coming release.
.H2 Databases
In the database category, the most popular applications include DDH Software’s HanDBase (at http://www.ddhsoftware.com/software.html?view=handbase), Thinking Byte’s ThinkDB (at http://www.thinkingbytes.com/thinkDB.html), and Land-J Technologies’ Jfile (at http://www.land-j.com/jfile.html), which is pictured in Figure D.
.FIG D JFile is a user-friendly database program for the Palm OS.
.H1 Bundling up
So if integrating these various productivity categories into one powerful package makes so much sense for desktop PCs, doesn’t it make sense that these Palm applications be bundled together into a single integrated productivity suite? Yes it does, and some Palm software developers previously mentioned are certainly moving in that direction. Indeed, both Cutting Edge Software (at http://www.cesinc.com) and DataViz (at http://www.dataviz.com) have recently launched their different visions of what an "office-style" handheld suite should be like.
.H2 Meet the candidates
Documents To Go Professional, from DataViz, provides good document viewing of a range of Microsoft and non-Microsoft desktop file formats, and their most recent release supports some device-side input as well. The emphasis of DataViz is on "remote view access" to documents and recently has included DataViz Mail to support remote viewing of email attachments in common formats.
The bundle’s spreadsheet application, SheetToGo, is pictured in Figure E.
.FIG E SheetToGo has multiple cell options for flexible viewing.
The word processing application in this bundle is called WordToGo, and it’s pictured in Figure F.
.FIG F With WordToGo, you can add bookmarks for easy navigation.
Quickoffice from Cutting Edge Software, meanwhile, assumes users will require full interaction with remote documents, including new file creation, duplication, and comprehensive editing. These differing approaches will determine which is appropriate to your use.
As mentioned above, the spreadsheet application in the Quickoffice bundle is called Quicksheet. It’s pictured in Figure G.
.FIG G Quicksheet includes over 60 built-in functions with support for many scientific, financial, date/time, and statistical calculations.
Currently, no other single software provider offers both text editing and spreadsheet solutions amenable to an enterprise implementation. Both Documents To Go and Quickoffice, however, are excellent solutions.
.H2 Getting the most out of office suites
The question you’re likely asking is, "How can my company get the most use out of such an office suite?" One common view among users of Quicksheet and Quickword is that a productivity suite solution is most useful at "the functional group" level, rather than on some overarching enterprise-wide basis. That is, if your workgroup is performing a task or a process on the desktop, many might get the idea that it would be beneficial to perform this task or process on the Palm device. This notion is especially pertinent if the members of your group do a considerable amount of work while away from the office.
Working in a group obviously requires teamwork. First and foremost, your Palm devices need to enable your team members to work on common documents and files. Of course, with the recent moves in New Economy companies towards cross-functional teams and integrated information systems to keep communication lines open, there’s a viable enterprise place for these applications’ use across departments as well. It’ll depend on your corporate environment. Think on that and talk to your prospective users before jumping in.
.H1 Keeping workers linked through the back-office
Just as it’s vital for workers in a group to be able to save files to a common source and electronically send documents to each other from their desktop PCs, it’s equally important for mobile workers to accomplish the same tasks via their handheld computers. Fortunately, software vendors have been working hard to ensure that Palm device users can easily synchronize their files with network servers and email files to and from handheld devices.
This is where the back-office infrastructure solutions enter the scene. Aether Systems’ ScoutSync Server (at http://www.aethersoftware.com/scoutware_family/ssync_index.php3) and Palm, Inc.’s HotSync Server (at http://www.palm.com/products/enterprise/server.html) both enable your team’s applications to be useful in file sharing environments-perhaps in an arrangement where someone from a central location updates files. For instance, a workgroup could use your suite to work on a document that’s frequently updated. These files wouldn’t be used on a one-to-one basis, rather they’d be used in a situation where many would be coordinating on the same file or document.
Just as you can synchronize with AvantGo and view or browse Web content offline, your chosen applications should offer your mobile workers the ability to pull the most recent information from a server in Word or Excel format. After all, that’s the format in which the bulk of a company’s work output is created. Having accomplished this task, you would be able to modify the document in the field directly on the device. So, look for tight integration between the device-side applications and these Palm-specific back-office tools as you create your solution.
.H1 The spreadsheet: a familiar, productive tool
Cookie-cutter solutions are rarely the answer for an enterprise. The problems you have may be a far cry from the problems other companies need to solve. Customization of the solution is key to getting the most out of the implementation. When Cutting Edge Software introduced Quicksheet 5.0 earlier this year, an available API (Applications Programming Interface) provided enterprise users with the capability to customize their applications and create a myriad of custom handheld solutions involving data acquisition, analysis, and display. The applications you choose should enable you to bend and mold them into the "shape" that best works in your workgroup’s particular situation.
Simply put, a Palm spreadsheet should offer application features to help simplify the process of data acquisition, display, and analysis while away from the office. A Palm spreadsheet shouldn’t be held up to the same standards of functionality as the copy of Excel you have on your laptop. Don’t plan on trying to use it to create the departmental budget for the next fiscal year. Instead, look at the Palm spreadsheet more as a means of replacing forms, providing summary information, or allowing field sales personnel to prepare simple reports. Some other examples of appropriate use are taking inventory in a warehouse, building a sales quote for a customer, managing summary information from an account database, or other processes that requires you to collect data on paper and re-key the information once you return to your office. Once synchronized to a corporate server, this kind of application easily allows for worksheet consolidation and performing summations and data analysis in the unified workbook.
For enterprise users, access to network-resident data is vital. Not all information you need on the road is always stored in an Excel file on your PC desktop. A lot of it will be stored in databases on your network. While Palm platform solutions from companies like Oracle and Sybase also exist, their implementations are more complex, and their costs a good deal higher than delivering information to your users through the familiar spreadsheet format. Your Palm spreadsheet or database application should allow you to link to a corporate network and then automatically synchronize with an XLS file or ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) compliant database like Oracle. With that kind of capability, a salesperson could synchronize with the network and receive the most updated pricing and inventory list prior to meeting with a customer.
.H1 You’ve got email attachments
I love email. Well, in reasonable doses. Email makes our lives even more convenient now that we don’t need to print out our documents and courier them to our clients. Instead, we simply click on the Paper Clip button and send them as attachments to our email messages. When considering your Palm software options, make sure you’ll have the ability to send attachments to and from your workgroup’s handhelds. Email is too important to be left out, especially when users are away from the office and are in a hurry to beat a deadline. To solve this problem, check to see if the software you’re considering includes a conduit for use with popular email software such as the built in Mail application, Eudora for Palm computers, or Palm’s recently acquired and robust MultiMaila Pro (at http://www.actualsoft.com). Email continues to be the backbone for transferring files between users in the field and their corporate offices, so be sure your chosen solution supports outbound email attachments as well as the receipt of inbound attachments.
.H1 Bar code scanning
For some positions, collecting data by scanning bar codes is important. To enable on-the-spot data acquisition, analysis, and display, your spreadsheet or database software should ideally support the popular Symbol SPT 1500 and SPT 1700 handheld scanning devices, which run on the Palm OS. With a spreadsheet application installed on your Symbol device, you’ll be able to quickly and effortlessly scan bar codes into a familiar tabular format for later synchronization and use.
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.H1 Conclusion
Though I know I haven’t hit all the bases, the issues discussed here should get you started. Keep in mind that if you want to ease support of your users, it’ll pay to seek their input on the front end. Talk to your sales folks, engineers, and other key prospective users. Listen to them. Don’t just do what they tell you, though. As Carl Yankowski, CEO of Palm, said in a recent speech, "Don’t listen too much to the geeks."
Get a solid grip on the most common needs your Palm device users are likely to have for standard document formats like Word and Excel. Think about extendibility of the solution, since as the comfort of users increases, they are likely to demand more of the solution. Of course, it’ll take some compromise to find the right mix of functionality, cost, and compatibility with your company’s existing systems, budget, culture, and needs, but you knew that. You’ve been balancing these issues on the desktop for years. Now, thanks to the Palm Economy, you get to learn to juggle them in your hands.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Solutions in Hand’s MiniCalc, visit http://www.solutionsinhand.com.
For more information on Cutting Edge Software’s Quicksheet, visit http://www.cesinc.com/quicksheet/index.html.
For more information on Iambic’s TinySheet, visit http://www.iambic.com/pilot/tinysheet3/.
For more information on DataViz’s Documents To Go Professional, visit http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/index.html.
For more information on Cutting Edge Software’s Quickword, visit http://www.cesinc.com/quickword/index.html.
For more information on Megasoft’s MegaDoc, visit http://megasoft2000.tripod.com.
For more information on Aportis’ AportisDoc, visit http://www.aportis.com.
For more information on Qvadis’ Express Reader GT, visit http://www.qvadis.com/expressreader/gt.html.
For more information on DDH Software’s HanDBase, visit http://www.ddhsoftware.com/software.html?view=handbase.
For more information on Thinking Byte’s ThinkDB, visit http://www.thinkingbytes.com/thinkDB.html.
For more information on Land-J Technologies’ JFile, visit http://www.land-j.com/jfile.html.
Aether Systems’ ScoutSync Server, visit http://www.aethersoftware.com/scoutware_family/ssync_index.php3.
For more information on Palm, Inc.’s HotSync Server, visit http://www.palm.com/products/enterprise/server.html.
For more information on Oracle, visit http://www.oracle.com.
For more information on Sybase, visit http://www.sybase.com.
For more information on MultiMaila Pro, visit http://www.actualsoft.com.
For more information on Symbol’s SPT 1500, visit http://www.symbol.com/products/mobile_computers/mobile_palm_pi_hdwr_spt1500.html.
For more information on Symbol’s SPT 1700, visit http://www.symbol.com/products/mobile_computers/mobile_palm_pi_hdwr_spt1700.html.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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.BIO
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