pdas: rick peterson marc scarborough Rice University unsupportable(?) supporting the

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goals: (marc) 1 - share the complexity 2 - explain the technology & offer options (rick) 3 - open discussion on your solutions (the group)

pdas

Let’s start with “p”

personal

pertaining to persons, as opposed to things *from wiktionary.org

d

digital

1. Having to do with digits (fingers or toes); performed with a finger.* *from wiktionary.org

a

assistant

3. A software tool that provides assistance in some task.* *from wiktionary.org

which gives us…

and makes

life

complex

and supporting

pdas

challenging

but…why??

first…

pdas

personal

VIP

another VIP

and it’s the eighth deadliest sin

envy

and when the VIP arrives

oh no, not another BLACKBERRY user

unless of course they’re running

in which case

(but that’s another story)

but if they’re are using, let’s say

there may be issues

with over the air (OTA) sync contacts calendar tasks

and any 3rd party software Consilient Notify.net Others?

with duplicate(ing) contacts

with weird calendar events

added costs, models, and ROI

and with people expecting perfection

bottom line?

these issues/complexities

are nothing if

VIP

wants

second…

pdas

digital

have to do digital things

-create, send, receive -manage contacts -make and keep appointments

digital information access Personal preference +

in a world of…

approx. 1 BILLION cellular phone subscribers

where approx. 40% replace phones EACH YEAR

and where all smartphones will DO wireless: web calendar contacts tasks

there exists complexity

oh - and 1% of that market by 2008 will be owned by…?

THAT will play well with the enterprise

which leads us, finally…

pdas

assistant

need for more capable assistants

with enterprise tie-in

what can help?

Web 2.0 & pdas? from

mix, match, and mutate

“build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them.” tim o’reilly from

p - personal preference a - an enabled assistant d - digital info needs

more features and more capability in the pda’s future

and it’s up to us to help

Now… Marc proper homage duly given to Dick Hardt, CEO of sxip.com and his presentation/style at: from which some of the style of this presentation has shamelessly been stolen

Supporting the PDA at Rice University Marc Scarborough Rick Peterson

In This Issue Why PDAs are hard to support Challenges we face at Rice Our available options What we did at Rice What you can do More resources and Q&A Applause

Why is supporting PDAs so hard? Different devices require different back end systems to function –Exchange, Blackberry Enterprise Server, etc Cell providers offer little to no help –Most assume the back end is there and well understood There are so many devices –People choose devices before deciding on services –Not just cell phones anymore

Why is this so hard for Rice? No Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) –Rice uses Oracle Calendar –BES does not “synchronize” with Oracle Microsoft Exchange is an alternate, fee-based service for our users –Rice uses more traditional services (Cyrus) Money –Devices, Data Plans, Licenses are all expensive

Options for Oracle and traditional Unix Oracle does offer some sync options –SyncML (“wireless” pull) –PocketPC and Palm Sync Clients (“tethered”) Most smartphones now have full IMAP(s) clients –There are also many third party clients

What is SyncML? SyncML is an open standard designed to synchronize information across multiple types of networks to and from multiple types of devices and platforms. –Non-vendor, non-os, non-application specific –Works over standard networks (wired, wireless, cell, etc) and protocols (HTTP(s), SMTP, etc)

Calendar Server Web Server SyncML - Like HTML, but for PIM Internet HTML Over TCP/IP SyncML Over TCP/IP

Support for SyncML

The Compatibility Question Rice Technologies –We now know what services we can offer IMAP, SyncML, ActiveSync –We now know more about the mobile devices Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry, Symbian (iPhone?) Push vs Pull –Push Server-initiated synchronization, like Blackberry (instant ) –Pull Client-initiated synchronization, like traditional (checking every 15 minutes)

Compatibility Chart - Dash Oracle and Cyrus T-Mobile Dash (1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server, (3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option Cingular Blackjack

Compatibility Chart - Dash Microsoft Exchange (1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server, (3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option T-Mobile Dash Cingular Blackjack

Compatibility Chart - Treo 680 Oracle and Cyrus Cingular Treo 680 (1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server, (3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

Compatibility Chart - Treo 680 Microsoft Exchange Cingular Treo 680 (1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server, (3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

Compatibility Chart - BB 8100 Oracle and Cyrus BlackBerry 8100 (1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server, (3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

Compatibility Chart - BB 8100 Microsoft Exchange BlackBerry 8100 (1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server, (3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

How can I prepare? Know what technologies the services you currently offer use Become familiar with what technologies are compatible with which services Develop consistent responses to similar questions Educate and train IT Support Staff

Push Services - Beyond the Blackberry Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync –Great for those with Exchange servers –Includes some non-Microsoft devices (Symbian, Palm) Third-party –Offerings from Consilient, Good and IntelliSync –Multi-device support ASP/Hosted –NotifyLink

Third Party Products and Services ASP/Hosted –NotifyLink (Blackberry) –Motorola GoodLink (Mulitdevice) –Nokia Intellisync (Multidevice) Client Support –Synthesis AG (SyncML for Windows Mobile and Palm) –Nexthaus (SyncML for Blackberry)

Third Party Products and Services Clients –Snappermail (IMAP for Palm) –ProfiMail (IMAP for Windows Mobile and Symbian)

Links SyncML – Consilient – NotifyLink – Synthesis AG – Nexthaus – Snappermail – ProfiMail – Motorola Good – Nokia Intellisync –

Thank you! Any solutions to share?