Unquestionably, allowing nurses to access patient charts, pharmacists to access prescription data, and physicians to access online databases for symptoms and remedies will translate into significant productivity gains.

To meet their corporate transportation needs, companies like Diebold (at http://www.diebold.com) and Keyspan Energy (at http://www.keyspanenergy.com) are developing handheld-supported wireless dispatch applications. LSI Logic (at http://www.lsilogic.com) labors on a wireless order status system, and a slew of companies like Cisco Systems (at http://www.cisco.com), Avaya (at http://www.avaya.com), AOL Time Warner (at http://www.aoltimewarner.com), and Walgreens (at http://www.walgreens.com) explore wireless handheld access to VPNs (Virtual Private Network), LANs (Local Area Network), WANs (Wide Area Network), and intranets.

A number of companies are developing or implementing wireless solutions that combine the Palm OS and Lotus Notes. Centex (at http://www.centex.com), Shaw Industries (at http://www.shawinc.com), Masco (at http://www.masco.com), Becton Dickinson (at http://www.bd.com), and National Semiconductor (at http://www.national.com) have taken the lead in wireless connection of their Lotus office automation solutions.

Palm progress, front to back
Increasing worker productivity is but one benefit Palm brings to corporate America. Enterprises also look to increase productivity in back-office operations, and the Palm OS has proved a viable development platform. Olin Corporation (at http://www.olin.com) and Phelps Dodge (at http://www.phelpsdodge.com), for example, are investigating wireless access to their SAP applications through the Palm OS.

Back-office use of the Palm OS also ranges from GPS (Global Positioning System)-type applications for plant locations and directories, to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems and more sophisticated inventory management, supply chain management, and wireless integration. Raytheon (at http://www.raytheon.com) and Royster-Clark (at http://www.roysterclark.com) use the Palm for GPS systems. Others--like ABM Industries (at http://www.abm-baltwash.com), and Dominion Resources (at http://www.dom.com)--are developing application solutions for inventory, plant systems, and order tracking.

Still more corporations are initiating front-office solutions for the Palm platform. Here, Palm's relationship with market leader Siebel will give it leverage in penetrating large enterprises. EMC Corporation (at http://www.emc.com), a preeminent provider of storage solutions, and Liberty Mutual Insurance (at http://www.libertymutual.com) are just two examples of organizations giving their sales staffs data access through the Palm OS.

Can I get some help here?
As Palm OS-based applications increase, IT departments must be positioned to support corporate users within the handheld environment. Already--as the Winn Technology Group study on handheld adoption reveals--60 percent of Fortune 1000 companies offer support for handhelds through their Help Desks. This is illustrated in Figure D.