If you're unable to set up such software in your enterprise, you can still utilize mailing lists through an external hosting service. For example, ZATZ, publishers of PalmPower's Enterprise Edition, sends out millions of opt-in email messages a month. If you'd like to outsource mailing list management (complete with automated opt-in and fail-safe unsubscribe), you can email Theo Durst at theo_durst@ZATZ.com or call 609-497-4501.

How else can I use mailing lists?
You don't even have to set up a mailing list to take advantage of this technology. For example, Yahoo Groups (at http://groups.yahoo.com) has hundreds of thousands of already existing mailing lists, most of which are accessible by anyone. They contain a vast amount of information that may be of great interest to you and other members of your enterprise. In addition, Yahoo Groups is just one of a number of public mailing list hosts. A little poking around on the Web will reveal many others. Finally, there are thousands of other mailing lists that are available to the public but are hosted on enterprise systems or personal PCs.

One good example of the type of information that can be found in public mailing lists is information on the Palm handheld. For example, there are well over 100 mailing lists on Yahoo Groups devoted to discussing various aspects of the Palm handheld. And, of course, you can sign up for the PalmPower Magazine Enterprise Edition weekly tip mailing at http://www.palmpowerenterprise.com.

Conclusion
Although the mailing list is an ancient technology when compared to more advanced information distribution products like AvantGo, it can still be very effectively used to push information out to an enterprise's stakeholders. It can be an extremely cost-effective communications tool for any enterprise.

Michael Connick is a Senior Project Manager at BusinessEdge Solutions, Inc. He can be reached at mconnick@monmouth.com. You can also visit his Palm handheld oriented Web site at http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/palm.htm.