.KEYWORD enterprise
.FLYINGHEAD ENTERPRISE COMPUTING
.TITLE Palm Computing meets the enterprise
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY Just when you’ve finally gotten comfortable playing with your Palm organizer and HotSyncing in private, Palm makes announcements that may mean you’ll be HotSyncing in public as well. You’ll be HotSyncing in conference rooms, in lobbies, or in any other area where the Palm device users of your company might congregate. What does this all mean? Read this informative article by PalmPower contributing editor Dan Velasco and find out about Ethernet HotSyncing and more.
.AUTHOR Dan Velasco
Just when you’ve finally gotten comfortable playing with your Palm organizer and HotSyncing in private, Palm makes announcements that may mean you’ll be HotSyncing in public as well. You’ll be HotSyncing in conference rooms, in lobbies, or in any other area where the Palm device users of your company might congregate.
On October 18th, Palm announced that they are currently working on the development of two products, the Palm HotSync Server and Palm Ethernet Cradle. By using both of these products, Palm device users will be able to synchronize their Palm devices with corporate (enterprise) data and even their own data by placing their organizer in a Palm Ethernet Cradle that’s connected to a Palm HotSync Server via the corporate network. One of the somewhat surprising, yet great, things about the Palm HotSync Server product announcement is the news that it will work not only with products running the Palm OS, but with Windows CE devices as well. This seems to be a sign to indicate just how serious Palm Computing is about making this a flexible enterprise solution for managing handheld devices.
For example, say you’re attending a meeting in Building 10 of your multi-building company and realize that you never performed a HotSync to get your email or the project planning database that resides on one of the company’s servers. Rather than having to walk ten minutes or so back to your desk in Building 1, you can, instead, place your Palm device in a Palm Ethernet Cradle that resides in the meeting room. Then, you’ll be able to HotSync with your vital corporate and personal data through the Palm HotSync Server on the network.
.H1 The beginning of a new era
Palm’s press release heralds these announcements as part of its plan to "extend its leadership position in the enterprise handheld market." I think this is one case where the language of the press release will live up to the reality. There are already products on the market that enable Palm device users to synchronize directly with corporate data residing on servers (see the other players section below for more info on two of them). But the announcement by Palm that they are indeed focusing on developing enterprise solutions really gives a big boost to all of the companies that are developing enterprise solutions for handheld devices.
This announcement also ushers in a new era, the era of the centrally managed Palm device. The Palm HotSync Server software will enable system administrators to set standard configuration settings for Palm devices and do such tasks as install or delete applications. There is a clear advantage to using a Palm device in a corporation that is using a Palm HotSync Server. The advantage is that if your device ever malfunctions, it will be easy to get a replacement unit (what Palm calls a "Hot Swap") right away that has all of the data and applications you need. Another advantage from the corporation’s point of view is reduced support costs and the ability to maintain better security over corporate data.
The downside for you as an individual user is that your Palm computer, currently the last refuge for your quirky personality, will certainly be examined more closely once it’s connecting to enterprise applications and data. I’d better uninstall that Furby remote control application I have before that happens (although it’s very handy for putting the annoying little thing to sleep whenever I want).
.H1 The Facts, and nothing but the facts
Here are all of the facts you’ll need to get your company set up with the Palm HotSync server and the Palm Ethernet Cradle.
.H2 Availability
This is definitely not something that Santa is going to leave under your tree. Officially on their Web site, Palm is saying that the Palm HotSync Server and the Palm Ethernet Cradle will be available initially only in the US in early 2000. When I attended the Palm Solutions Event in Santa Clara, CA, on October 25, a Palm representative said that the Palm Ethernet Cradle was expected to ship in January 2000. The Palm HotSync Server is expected go into beta testing in January as well, with a ship date around March 2000.
.H2 System requirements
Here is the list of requirements you’ll need for the Palm HotSync Server:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Windows NT 4.0 with service pack 3 or later;
.BULLET 133 Mhz, 128MB RAM, 60MB disk space;
.BULLET Network interface card with TCP/IP protocol.
.END_LIST
This is what you’ll need for the Palm Ethernet Cradle:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Palm Network HotSync or synchronization server;
.BULLET DHCP server installed;
.BULLET Connection to 10 or 10/100 Mbps Ethernet device.
.END_LIST
.H2 For the Palm-compatible device
The Palm Ethernet Cradle is initially going to be designed to work only with the Palm III series, the Palm VII and IBM WorkPad 20X and 30X devices. Support for the Palm V and WorkPad 3c will come later, since Palm is saying that it will be going after the largest installed base first. There is nothing preventing you, however, from using a product like The Bridge. See senior technical editor Claire Pieterek’s article about The Bridge in the September issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199909/bridge001.html. This handy product by Midwest PCB Designs enables you to make a Palm III cradle compatible with the Palm V.
.H1 Other enterprise players
For a full list of Palm partners that have enterprise solutions available, please go to the Palm Computing Web site at http://www.palm.com/enterprise/solutions/. I’m taking space here to mention just two of Palm’s partners that you should definitely keep your eye on.
.H2 Riverbed Technologies
If you can’t wait until next year to get your hands on Palm HotSync Server-type technology, you need look no further than Riverbed Technologies. Riverbed Technologies has a solution available today called ScoutSync that is very similar to the Palm HotSync Server product. In fact, Palm is licensing technology from Riverbed for their Palm HotSync Server. You can download a 30-day free trial version of Riverbed’s ScoutSync from their Web site.
.H2 Puma Technologies
One of the more titillating pieces of information I heard at the Palm Solutions Event is that Puma Technologies is working on a product, code-named Vulcan, that will use Bluetooth technology to help handheld devices communicate when they come in proximity (three meters or so) of each other. The projected release for this product is early 2000. Puma also has other existing enterprise solutions available today, including its Intellisync Anywhere family of products. This is definitely a company you need to research if handheld enterprise solutions are an area of interest to you.
.H1 Get ready for change
To be honest, Palm’s recent enterprise announcements excite me and scare me all at the same time. It’s exciting because I can see how the Palm device will truly become an essential tool that all employees of a corporation use, rather than just a select few. And it scares me because I know that my device is going to be a little less private once I’m connecting it into the corporate network. But mostly I’m very excited. That’s a good thing, because this change is probably inevitable. I can almost see it gathering on the horizon like big storm clouds as I sit here and write this today. The one thing that is certain is that we’re all going to get saturated with change.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
You can see Palm Computing’s press release announcing the HotSync Server at http://www.palm.com/pr/101899.html.
If you want more detailed information on the HotSync Server, check out the fact sheet at
http://www.palm.com/products/enterprise/server.html.
For the Palm Ethernet Cradle press release, see
http://www.palm.com/pr/101899.html.
The Palm Ethernet Cradle fact sheet can be found at http://www.palm.com/products/enterprise/ethernet.html.
You can visit Riverbed Technologies at http://www.riverbedtech.com.
Puma Technologies can be found at http://www.pumatech.com.
If you want more information on Palm Enterprise Solutions, check out
http://www.palm.com/enterprise/solutions/.
To learn more about Palm Solutions Seminars, be sure to see
http://www.palmseminars.com/solutions.html.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Dan Velasco is a Contributing Editor for DominoPower Magazine as well as an avid user of his Palm V. Dan is a Lotus Notes/Domino Developer for the Worldwide Sales & Marketing Department at Adecco in Redwood City, CA. He is also an R4 and R5 CLP Principal Application Developer and a R4 Principal System Administrator. You can reach him via e-mail at dan.velasco@adecco.com or on the Web at http://dan.velasco.com.
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