If PDAs follow the same path as personal computers, then we'll see the following:

• An increase in the uses to which the devices can be put (becoming more general purpose);

• The gradual acceptance of handhelds as valid organizational productivity tools;

• An increase in the need for interconnection between the devices so that information can be more readily shared;

• The requiring of more management of the devices to reduce the overall cost and increase the benefit to your organization.

Figure B illustrates the probable course of Palm handhelds in the enterprise.

FIGURE B

Is this where Palm handhelds are headed as well? Click picture for a larger image.

Building on our supposition of where we are in the adoption cycle, what kinds of lessons can we learn and what might the future hold in store?

Lessons that are important to learn
The easiest productivity gains have already been achieved. They were from the optimization of individual users working on individual devices with individual data. While my Palm handheld does help me to be more productive by allowing me to have my Rolodex immediately available wherever I am and to keep my calendar up to date, the fact that I, personally, am organized generally doesn't help anyone else where I work. The next set of improvements usually comes from sharing applications and their information among the devices and the organization's management of the devices to reduce their costs.

You need to concentrate on those applications that have the highest return on investment to validate the usefulness of these devices and increase their acceptance. This, of course, sounds axiomatic, but it's a point that's frequently forgotten. If our history lesson holds true, then the sharing of information will become increasingly important. Try to think about your information as existing in layers; the more you can deliver applications from the higher layers, the more successful your use of these devices and your organization will be.

What are these information layers? The bottom layers are those applications that support the individual. Most of these applications already come bundled with the hardware when you buy it. The next layer would be making information from existing business systems and processes available more pervasively. Synchronization software is now coming onto the scene that takes data from SQL (Structured Query Language), Groupware, and ODBC (Open Data Base Connectivity) data sources and makes this information more available through synchronization and potentially even wireless device access. The top-most layer would be information relating to business processes that haven't been possible without devices like Palm handhelds and data enabled mobile phones.

Figure C offers a visualization of these layers.

FIGURE C

Just as in nature, it's better at the top of the food chain. Click picture for a larger image.

The last major lesson is that it's time for your organization to start thinking about how to reduce the cost of supporting these devices in order to maximize their benefit. I was pleased when Palm announced that they intended to buy Extended Systems (at http://www.extendedsystems.com). I thought this acquisition would be an ideal one, positioning Palm to more proactively compete within the corporate sector by offering a suite of leading edge hardware and software that addressed the entire life cycle of the devices. Despite their mutual agreement to end the acquisition of Extended Systems, the two companies are continuing to work together, as evidenced by the announcement at TECHXNY that Palm will resell Extended Systems' XTNDConnect Server Software as a Palm branded product by the fourth quarter of this calendar year. I have no doubt Palm will continue to work closely with Extended Systems and other organizations like them offering similar systems management utilities for all brands of handheld computers.