It must focus on fulfilling and even exceeding customer expectations. It also must enable your workforce--which is likely increasingly diverse and mobile--to access critical data housed in enterprise data management systems.

The handheld computing environment is one area large enterprises are investigating in as a way to remain competitive. In fact, a recent study conducted by Winn Technology Group (at http://www.winntech.net) reveals that 56% of Fortune 1000 companies have developed a handheld standard, as reflected in Figure A.

FIGURE A

More than half of Fortune-ranked companies have adopted handheld standards. Click picture for a larger image.

This news bodes well for Palm, Inc. Its handheld devices have become the exclusive corporate standard at 57% of companies reporting a handheld standard. As you can see in Figure B, Palm competitors together occupy only another one-fourth of that exclusive market.

FIGURE B

Palm handhelds are exclusive at more than half of companies reporting a handheld standard. Click picture for a larger image.

The Palm handheld grows up
Enterprises have come to view the handheld not as a "personal organizer" but as a legitimate platform for wireless connectivity and corporate data access. While 57% of companies with a handheld standard have chosen to use the Palm handheld exclusively, 85% of those companies have standardized on the Palm OS platform--the platform that is also the basis for hardware devices from IBM, Handspring, and Sony (listed among All Others in Figure C).

FIGURE C

Among companies with a handheld standard, 85% use the Palm OS. Click picture for a larger image.

Today, Palm has partnerships with leading enterprise application providers like Lotus (at http://www.lotus.com), SAP (at http://www.sap.com), Siebel (at http://www.siebel.com), Oracle (at http://www.oracle.com), and Sybase (at http://www.sybase.com). Such strategic relationships give Palm added credibility among corporate evaluators and establishers of handheld standards. They also let Palm leverage its partners' sales and marketing prowess for better penetration of large enterprises--perhaps yours.

The amazingly versatile Palm OS
The growing corporate acceptance of the Palm OS is further supported by the number of industry-specific and niche applications being developed for it.

In healthcare in particular, mandated compliance with HIPAA (Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act) has forced corporations to examine current technologies and seek newer ones. HCA (at http://www.hcahealthcare.com) and Healthsouth (at http://www.healthsouth.com) strive for handheld applications that increase the productivity of medical practitioners. Still other healthcare companies hope to provide wireless access to laboratory results.