Pumatech Software and Solutions Review

Sync or Swim
By Mike Cohn
April 4, 2002 issue: InternetWorld.com

Recent updates of synchronization products are adding more oomph to the enterprise. This week, Pumatech introduced Enterprise Intellisync, Second Edition. The software synchronizes PIM, e-mail, and database information among desktop PCs, servers, and mobile devices. It also gives IT departments a centralized Administrator's Console where they can configure, deploy, and manage handheld devices. Administrators can configure settings and access privileges, deploy licenses and upgrades, back up and restore applications, and take inventory of device assets.

"We created a server-based product for synchronizing corporate data," says Richard Walker, vice president of marketing and online services at Pumatech. "The administrator can manage users. The software reports on how often people came in with their devices and if they failed. It can alert you when their memory and battery levels are at a certain point. We also provide a rapid application development toolkit."

The product includes Pumatech's Satellite Forms product, which is being used by Bear River Associates of Oakland, Calif., to develop mobile applications for clients such as Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola, and Siemens Transportation.

"We added Satellite Forms to our toolkit because there were a number of projects where Visual C++ wasn't appropriate, especially with the development of forms-based applications," says Anthony Meadow, president of Bear River Associates. "The projects we've done so far have focused on replacing clipboards and forms with mobile computers and databases."

Analysts also see advantages in enterprise synchronization. "There's no question that enterprise-based synchronization is one of the next big issues for connecting enterprises to the network," says Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. "Pumatech has taken the next step for creating synchronization with mobile and field devices. One of the big trends that took place last year, partially thanks to the iPaq from Compaq and Microsoft, was implementing handhelds and PDAs and -- as time goes forward, cell phones that have PDA functionality -- into the enterprise. We expect that trend to continue as more enterprises use mobile and wireless technologies with their executives as well as their field and sales forces."

Pumatch's Intellisync software is built into devices like the RIM BlackBerry Wireless Handheld and the new Sharp Zaurus SL-5500.