Professional services firm Viridien Technologies Inc. Tuesday rolled out RM2, a toolkit that can be customized and is designed to help companies gain control over core customer data and provide mobile employees with access to it.

RM2 pulls data from a company's existing customer relationship management system, decodes the information, and renders it for viewing and transactions on desktop PCs and mobile devices. Viridien is one of several CRM vendors, such as Aeritas, Multiactive Software, Pivotal, and Siebel Systems, that have added wireless capabilities to their roster of products. Analysts say wireless CRM deployments are rising slowly now, but the pace soon will quicken.

"Up until now, wireless technology has been too expensive for most companies to risk deployment," says Summit Strategies analyst Jennifer DiMarzio. The prices of wireless devices and hosted services have plummeted in the same way that PC prices have in recent years. "Companies looking to streamline inefficient paper-based processes and automate their field and/or sales forces are beginning to find wireless CRM tools very useful and CRM vendors are beginning to take notice of customer demand," says DiMarzio. Rather than spend thousands of dollars on a cumbersome laptop, many businesses are opting to provide mobile employees with $500 pocket computers like the Palm or even cheaper cellular phones.

Pricing for the RM2 varies, based on user preferences.