PDAs In The Enterprise

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=74&e=2&u=/cmp/20031206/tc_cmp/16600217">http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=74&e=2&u=/cmp/20031206/tc_cmp/16600217</a><br /><br />"Handheld devices continue to permeate the enterprise (news - web sites) and IT managers increasingly must insure the daily operation, security and resiliency of these devices. However, that can be difficult because many, if not most, handheld purchases occur at the departmental level, outside the purview of IT When that happens, standardizing on a single platform is impossible, which makes it more difficult for IT shops to support the devices and manage how they are used."<br /><br />This in an interesting article that lays out some similarities and differences in the two leading platforms, Palm and Pocket PC.

[Jonathan1]

Interesting read. My company has theoretically standardized on Palm however the political games, how do you tell a user they can't use their PPC, continues so really it ends up in the hands of the users as to what they get. With the end result usually being a Tungsten of some form or another.

As for support. I’m still partial to Palm because of Hotsync. It’s a really basic sync app and I’ve found that it breaks less frequently then Activesync. Even at its current version AS still sucks. :(

I’m still amazed at how Palm has squandered a near lockup of the PDA market and is now barely sitting at 50% market share in some areas of the world. Palm is going to go down as the world’s most pathetic loss of a market. 8O

[Ed Hansberry]

I’m still amazed at how Palm has squandered a near lockup of the PDA market and is now barely sitting at 50% market share in some areas of the world. Palm is going to go down as the world’s most pathetic loss of a market. 8O
No doubt. They will be or already are case studies in business schools on how you can go from 80% market dominance and have steep declines year after year by riding the same horse for years and years past its prime.

[davin1378]

I'd prefer to read about handhelds ON the Enterprise - Starship that is. 0X

[Jonathan1]

I'd prefer to read about handhelds ON the Enterprise - Starship that is. 0X

LOL. I thought that same thought reading the title but I guess I'm not geek enough to say it out loud. :lol:

I still want my PADD dang it!!!

[Anthony Caruana]

An interesting read...but it did omit one thing that I believe is critical in enterprise computing; Viruses.

Although there are not any know Pocket PC (and I think Palm) viruses out there yet, it is only a matter of time before someone either writes a virus that works on the Pocket PC on uses the Pocket PC as a vector for transmitting a virus.

If I were in charge of developing an enterprise policy around these devices I'd be including AV software now, before it becomes a catch up issue later. I'd also make it mandatory for all PDAs to have power-on passwords enabled.