InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

Without the availability of automated server synchronization software, the U.S. Postal Service wouldn't have begun using PDAs to track mail that travels via commercial airlines, says Clayton Bonnell, manager of international operations, systems, and support at the Postal Service. The agency didn't want to rely on users to update software via Web links or CD-ROM, he says, because this approach could easily lead to multiple versions of data and software being used, resulting in misinformation and incompatibilities.

ScoutSync technology lets the Postal Service efficiently maintain its fleet of scanner-equipped Symbol Technologies Inc.'s PDAs running the Palm OS, Bonnell says. Today, about 80 employees use this product, but the Postal Service plans to roll the PDAs out to about 600 employees. The IT group has tried to make the process of data synchronization seamless and immune from human error; applications and data travel under the control of the IT department via the wide area network to and from the organization's servers.

"It's a make-or-break kind of issue," Bonnell says. "If you can't manage version control, you'll be in a perpetual losing battle." With automated application, file, and content distribution, the Postal Service has emerged on the winner's side.

CA expects more organizations to follow the lead of innovators such as VicRoads and the Postal Service, tapping technology to manage their handheld devices. That's why it's gotten into the market as well: The software developer added asset-management, virus-protection, and software-delivery mechanisms for PDAs to Unicenter TNG, its systems-and network-management software. "CA identified some time ago that we didn't want to have the same obstacles happen to the evolution of handhelds as happened in the '80s with PCs," says John Pincomb, VP and business manager for real-world management at CA. "We wanted to create value for the IT manager by providing base-level management capabilities, first for the Palm and [now] for the Windows CE operating system."

Unicenter TNG customer Wells Dairy Inc. is considering using CA's software to manage its growing base of handheld devices, says Tom Rohde, manager of technical services at the privately held dairy in Le Mars, Iowa. About 20 employees use PDAs from several vendors, none of which is managed by the IT department. But the number of PDA users could get significantly larger as the company, which has 2,100 employees, gets ready to begin using PDAs on the plant floor and prepares to make them standard equipment for sales representatives. And part of the rollout plan includes selecting management tools as the devices move under IT's control.

"That's something we're definitely going to pursue when we start rolling out applications," Rohde says. "We're in the definitive phase of the overall project."

Likewise, Unicenter TNG user Digital News Media plans to investigate options such as CA's offering in the future, says James Budrow, VP of operations at the New York electronic publishing division of News Corp.'s News America Publishing Group. Individuals purchase their own devices, primarily using them for personal calendaring, he says. But as PDAs become more prevalent and are used for more critical applications, the IT organization will become more involved, Budrow says.

"It's recently become more and more of a priority for us," Holladay says. "In the last three to six months, the population of these [devices] has grown exponentially." Part of the management plan is simply making sure that new systems and software can integrate with PDAs.

Here's proof of how important handhelds are becoming to an increasingly mobile workforce: The top priority for the new E-mail systems TBWA is exploring, Holladay says, is how well they work with handhelds.

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