Makers of handheld devices are forging stronger links with software and services partners that could help to make the gadgets a staple of enterprise IT.
Last week, Palm announced a partnership with consulting firm Silverline Technologies to provide customised fixed and wireless business applications for Palm's best-selling devices. The move is typical of the effort Palm and its rivals in the Microsoft Pocket PC and Symbian camps are now making to translate their success among consumers into the business sector.
Palm's plan is to work with consulting partners so that organisations can have fleets of handhelds connecting to back-office systems in the same way as today's desktop and laptop PCs. In probably the most significant move yet, Palm and IBM last November agreed a deal that will see IBM Global Services deploy Palm OS-based systems for customers.
IBM is already developing back-office and infrastructure products for the Palm environment as well as for rival devices.
"You're going to see a point where the HR department defines the people who are information providers and the people who are information receivers and all the receivers will be given a PDA," said Bill Mackay, Palm UK country manager.
Palm has sold over seven million Palm devices and has 70 percent of the global handheld market, according to analyst firm Gartner. However, its market share could change as adoption rates rocket: Gartner and fellow analyst IDC expect the global market to more than triple to about 30 million sales each year by 2004.
Palm's rivals are also pursuing corporate custom. Microsoft said handhelds will proliferate in companies and will be given to their customers as loyalty incentives.
"We see Pocket PC as a business tool, and we recommend that businesses see it like a laptop in terms of applications, security and manageability," said Annemarie Duffy, wireless and mobility marketing manager at Microsoft, which supplies devices to Dresdner Bank and the bank's high-value customers. In a similar deal, Safeway has more than 1,000 trial users of its Palm/ IBM online shopping service. The Symbian consortium is due to unveil a consulting partner programme shortly.
The development of broadband wireless connections is also likely to encourage firms to use PDAs. "Until you have GPRS or UMTS there isn't the bandwidth to communicate wirelessly," said Clive Longbottom of analyst firm Quocirca.
Thomas Reuner, a Gartner analyst, was more cautious. "PDAs are tolerated but they don't penetrate mainstream accounts," he said. "We will see a lot more bundled solutions but I don't see many killer apps."
