InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

Siebel's deal with Palm marks its first foray into handheld applications. The vendor will support synchronization of data between Siebel 2000 apps and Palm's Address Book, Calendar, and To-Do lists. Palm and Siebel also want to build versions of Siebel apps that can run on the Palm OS so that businesses could, for instance, enter orders or provide product data on the spot.

Mobile CRM apps could drive business demand for Palm devices as sales forces try to get closer to their customers. "Very few business users are currently using handhelds to their full extent," Chuck Yort, VP of Palm's enterprise unit, said last week at the CRM Support Services Conference.

IPlanet will add support for Palm devices to its Wireless Server software, which service providers use to operate mobile networks. "This will let us extend the corporate intranet to the mobile worker," says Barbara Kay, director of marketing for iPlanet E-Services.

IBM introduced Websphere Transcoding Publisher, software that automatically converts data written in HTML or the Extensible Markup Language into languages used by handheld devices, such as the Wireless Markup Language.

Analysts say vendors want to get in on what promises to be a booming market. Says Bill Lesieur of Technology Business Research, "No one is sure yet who's going to own what part of the wireless value chain, so everyone is getting in everywhere."