Over the last eight weeks I have been dealing with a number of issues around the use of wireless handheld computers in a corporate setting. The entire process starting me thinking that perhaps the time has come to rid ourselves of wired data synchronization.

All Tangled Up

My trouble started as I began to develop a project plan to upgrade a calendaring system for the company that I work for. I have been supporting this particular product for over 10 years and my team and I were confident that the upgrade would go off without a hitch. It was at that point that we discovered that the vendor had dropped support for wired calendar synchronization. I immediately saw that 40 of my customers would be directly impacted.

The solution offered by the vendor required that we purchase a third-party PIM synchronization server. I later found out that the PIM server primarily synchronized data wirelessly. For an additional maintenance fee, a wired solution could be purchased. Further investigation into using this wired solution required a PPP session to the PIM server be established and that the Palm HotSync software would no longer be used. I knew that even if this workaround solution could be implemented, my customers would never accept it due the new complexities of synchronizing their handhelds. The situation was starting to look grim.

A second solution presented itself which involved synchronizing the calendar information to Microsoft Outlook and then using Chapura Pocket Mirror Standard or Palm’s Outlook conduits to synchronize data. Once again my hopes where dashed as I learned that this solution required a local Outlook PST data file, something that my company has a policy against.

After a month of several false starts and hours on the phone with vendor support centers, a workaround solution for the workaround was identified and implemented. In the end, we were able to provide the familiar wired HotSync solution that my customers had become accustomed to. The really annoying part was that this workaround solution called for the use of the discontinued conduits against the new server after a few simple alterations where made at the server and the client workstations.

Embracing Wireless

While my team and I were able to implement a wired solution for synchronizing calendar information with a Palm OS device, the question that I still have in the back of my mind is: How long will solutions like this continue to work before they become too cumbersome?

Clearly enterprise software vendors are almost exclusively focused on only supporting wireless solutions. At the same time small companies like the one I work for are almost exclusively focused on cutting costs. At what point does the cost of a wireless solution just become a normal cost of doing business? Had my company embraced a wireless solution (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular) just 12 months ago, would there even have been an issue with the wired conduits going away?

Going wireless isn’t just a consideration for corporate America. Home customers can jump on the wireless bandwagon also. Sales of notebook computers were up last year. Apple reported that 60% of Macintosh computers sold in 2006 where from their notebook lines. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are standard on just about every notebook computer sold today.

As more desktop computers begin to ship with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in, I see power users adopting even more of a wireless lifestyle that will extend to their computer accessories. (Going wireless can also give your workspace a contemporary look and feel if you’re into that.) Palm makes it easy to synchronize your wireless enabled Palm handheld PDA with a Windows PC. The Network HotSync Setup wizard will get you synchronizing over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi quickly and painlessly.

There are some issues with going wireless. Many desktop computers just do not have wireless networking built in. Today’s Palm OS Treo smartphones lack built-in Wi-Fi. Treo customers who wish to sync wirelessly will either need to buy an expensive Wi-Fi sled or use a slower Bluetooth connection. Neither of those solutions is particularly attractive. Windows Mobile Treo customers would be able to sync wirelessly if they have a supported Wi-Fi card, except Microsoft has removed the option to synchronize over Wi-Fi due to security concerns with ActiveSync. This lack of robust wireless support on the Treo narrows the playing field down to customers who have Wi-Fi enabled PDAs.

In Conclusion

For the time being, I don’t see many people giving up their wired sync habits. It’s how people think about connecting devices to their computer: you plug it in. Over time, as wireless technologies become more popular in both desktop and notebook systems, people will begin to embrace wireless accessories. Wireless connections to keyboards, mice, printers, and the network will become the norm. It will only be a matter of time before the only cable to connect to your Palm will be to charge it.

What do you think? Is there a future for wired data synchronization? Let us now in the 1SRC forums.