For more than three years in PalmPower Magazine and nearly a year here in PalmPower's Enterprise Edition, we've been showing you what you can do with Palm handhelds, helping you use them to the fullest, and delving into the most interesting nooks and crannies of their operation.

We know that, here in the Enterprise Edition, we've inspired many of you to consider investing in Palm handhelds. In a recent survey we asked you, "Has PalmPower's Enterprise Edition helped you decide to purchase a Palm computer?" More than 53% of you said that the magazine helped you decide to purchase, and another 11.54% said it helped you to evaluate your purchasing options.

When making a purchasing decision, you're obviously going to evaluate function, fit, and performance. In other words, can the product do the job? Based on the many success stories we've published and letters we've received, it's pretty clear that Palm handhelds are amazingly versatile--far more so than we had any inkling of before we began publishing the magazine.

"From what we've been able to tell, the actual return on a Palm handheld investment is nothing short of astounding."

But when making a purchasing decision, especially on a company-wide basis, you also must evaluate your ROI (Return on Investment). In other words, you (or at least the key financial managers in your company) need to know that if you spend a certain amount bringing in a solution, there will be a return at least commensurate with the expense.

The purpose of this article is to explore the entire ROI issue as it pertains to Palm handhelds. It's going to be an interesting journey, so buckle up and hang on.

Return on Investment
From what we've been able to tell, the actual return on a Palm handheld investment is nothing short of astounding.

It's important to realize that there are two kinds of ROI you should be factoring into your thinking. The first, of course, is money ROI. How much more can you sell? How much can you save? How much more productive are your people?

But there's another form of ROI that won't fit into a spreadsheet. This ROI is equally, possibly even more, important. What is it? It's the quality-of-life ROI. The simple fact is that Palm handhelds improve the quality of life, from making it easier to keep track of appointments, to keeping important information available at all times, to simply making sure you have the right map on hand when you need it.