Pumatech's Intellisync: goAnywhere Software Provides Real-time Remote Access to Personal Computers

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pumatech.com/press_releases/120803.html' target='_blank'>http://www.pumatech.com/press_releases/120803.html</a><br /><br /></div>"Pumatech, Inc., a leading provider of synchronization software and services, today announced the availability of its new Intellisync®: goAnywhere™ software, an innovative package that easily allows users with Web-enabled devices - a laptop PC, mobile phone* or personal digital assistant (PDA) - to remotely access Microsoft Outlook information and files that reside on their desktop computer, including e-mail, contacts, tasks, calendars and documents. Intellisync: goAnywhere is an easy-to-use application that enhances users' ability to take advantage of the increasingly powerful capabilities of mobile phones and PDAs, minimizing the need to take a laptop computer on the road or to use multiple devices for multiple tasks. <br /><br />Intellisync: goAnywhere sells for an annual subscription fee of $99.95, and is available through authorized Pumatech retailers and from the Pumatech Web Store at <a href="www.pumatech.com">www.pumatech.com</a>.<br /><br />"Intellisync: goAnywhere aligns with Pumatech's long-standing mission to provide easy access to information and keep people in sync," said Philip Gilbert, director of product management, enterprise markets for Pumatech. "Its ability to provide easy, remote access to information and files located on a host PC creates a virtual digital briefcase - essentially, a mobile office that resides in users' pockets."<br /><br />This sounds a little like GoToMyPC from Expert City - anyone tried this new one from Intellisync yet?

[Cortex]

sounds more like activesync to me....

[mekmek]

goAnywhere is not a new product - Pumatech purchased LoudPC earlier in the year, and goAnywhere is simply a rebranding of LoudPC.

I have used LoudPC, and now goAnywhere, for over a year. It lets me access my entire Outlook store from any web browser, as well as my entire My Documents directory and any other defined folder or network resource.

I also use GOTOMYPC to service clients remotely (easier to configure than PCAnywhere or RealVNC). GOTOMYPC and goAnywhere are very different products that appeal to different users. If all you want is access to your Outlook message store, then GoAnywhere is faster and more convenient. Unlike most webmail, which may only let you see new messages, goAnywhere provides access to all your Outlook data. It is like having the Web-based Exchange access feature without needing Exchange. But if you need to access programs on a remote computer - like make an accounting entry on your home computer from work - then GOTOMYPC provides the complete remote access features you need.

I use goAnywhere to access my own entire email data and files when I am working at clients' offices, and I use goAnywhere to access and troubleshoot my clients' computers when I am at home.

An additional interesting feature of goAnywhere that some of my clients use is the ability to share data remotely. 2 goAnywhere subscribers can arrange to share any defined Outlook calendar, contact list, email folder, etc. goAnywhere does not move this data between Outlook stores, but the web access allows you to see not only your own Outlook data, but this defined shared data. My clients use it for scheduling and synchronizing calendars across their virtual office.

The transition from LoudPC to the Pumatech service has had some glitches. Pumatech has updated the features in the service, and has had a bit of service trouble as a result. I am still working with them to fix a couple of things on some shared access accounts. But they have been very responsive to support requests. I was worried about how serious Pumatech would be with their purchase of LoudPC, but they seem to have a commitment to continuing and enhancing the service.

So, goAnywhere is not a synchronization tool as much as a remote access tool. But it fits the Pumtech platform of integrating access.