Getting a Handle on Handhelds

Novell Cool Solutions: Feature

Digg This - Slashdot This Posted: 27 Feb 2003

Looking for ammo to help you convince the boss that it's time to get serious about managing the handheld devices in your company? You're not alone. Our readers have definitely noticed that corporate PDAs are out of control. In a recent survey, our readers estimate that more than one quarter of their company's employees currently carry a PDA, and most of them have installed at least ten applications on them (a fair percentage have between 30 and 50 applications installed!). This is no passing fad. This is a software management problem that will continue to grow, increasing the burden on the IT department, and compromising the security of confidential company data.

Join us for this new series exploring the ins and outs of handheld management. This first article provides an overview of the issues and is perfect for the boss who may not realize the risk of ignoring these handy little gadgets.

In a world where accessing information instantaneously is paramount, handheld devices have become the perfect way to stay informed. Yet, the increasing number of these handheld devices leaves network administrators grappling with the problem of managing and securing the handheld user base, with no effective way to do. What does it cost your corporation to deploy and maintain handheld hardware and applications? Are your corporate secrets secure on handhelds? Is user productivity impacted by self-support?

In this first of a series of articles on the topic of handheld management, we will overview the challenges of managing a mobile handheld workforce and take a quick look at one of the products in the handheld management space - Novell? ZENworks? for Handhelds. In the coming months, we'll dive into specific handheld management challenges and provide you with detailed descriptions of how ZENworks for Handhelds can be used to meet those challenges.

Small Devices, Big IT Challenges

Leading analysts predict that by 2004, 60% of office workers will be using at least three mobile computing devices - a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and a smart phone. The rapid increase in the number of mobile platforms presents significant challenges to IT organizations in terms of systems management and helpdesk services.

The challenge of maintaining handheld devices rivals the difficulty of managing desktops. According to Gartner Group (www.gartner.com), the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a handheld device is about $2700 per year. That is roughly ten times the cost of the device itself! These costs exist because IT organizations cannot manage handheld devices using the cost-effective methods they use to manage other technologies. For example, IT organizations may need to:

• Deploy large quantities of handhelds with standard applications and configurations
• Enforce password security and backup policies
• Install and upgrade applications on a routine basis
• Restore applications, data, and user information to a replacement device when a handheld is stolen, lost, or damaged
• Provide technical assistance to handheld users

Unfortunately, many IT organizations have taken a hands-off approach to handheld device management. In other words, they let handheld users support themselves. As the base of handheld users has grown and as the quantity of mission-critical data on these devices has increased, this hands-off approach is no longer viable. As more employees depend on handhelds and the data they contain to get their job done, IT organizations are expected to provide the same level of service for these devices as they do for other computing platforms. Moreover, as more corporate data is stored on handhelds, IT organizations require better control of these devices.

Security and Handheld Devices

Another challenge IT organizations must not overlook is the security of corporate information stored on handheld devices. According to research by the Gartner Group, "Approximately 250,000 handheld devices were left behind or lost in U.S. airports in 2001. As the proliferation of PDAs with cellular phone and wireless features increases, so will the opportunities for such losses. Whether a PDA only stores calendar and e-mail information or an organization's sensitive data, losing control of the PDA and the data it contains can pose serious threats to an enterprise. The PDA's small size also makes it an ideal tool for corporate espionage, data theft and fraud, where files can be transferred to the devices from desktops and taken away quickly and unnoticed." (1) Entrusting users to configure passwords on handheld devices, which are often personal purchases, results in hit-and-miss password coverage, and many devices are left without passwords. Centralized, automated enforcement of password policy is needed to secure corporate data stored on handheld devices.

Along with password security, data protection is another handheld management issue. Handheld users seldom back up critical data. Synchronization takes care of e-mail, contacts, and calendars, but other files are left unprotected exposing the company to data loss when devices are misplaced or damaged.

The Challenging Mobile Environment

The mobile environment in which handheld users operate causes difficulties in and of itself. The window of opportunity to manage handheld devices tends to be short because users generally operate their handhelds while disconnected from the network. Specialized solutions that perform management during the brief periods when devices are connected to the network and which optimize the use of precious low-bandwidth connectivity are required.

From a technical perspective, Duane Bourgeois, Director of Sales for Mobile Management Products at Novell, states that one of the main handheld management issues is the "myriad of connectivity options." This includes the cradle: Ethernet, USB, serial or wireless, IRDA, Bluetooth, 802.11x. In addition, the "lack of enterprise capable applications and dependency on 'companion' PCs instead of direct connections" poses problems.

There is Hope: ZENworks for Handhelds

Novell's ZENworks for Handhelds provides automated management for handhelds to reduce high ownership costs, strengthen security, and increase user productivity. Tightly integrated with Novell's ZENworks product family through the directory and a shared console, ZENworks for Handhelds is part of a comprehensive management solution spanning your server, desktop, laptop and handheld management needs.

Although handheld devices are more mobile and more specialized than PC desktops, these devices have the same basic management requirements as their larger counterparts. ZENworks for Handhelds meets these needs with:

• Software and Content Distribution. Automated distribution and updates for applications and content to increase user productivity and reduce administrative costs.
• Security Management. Centralized enforcement of password requirements to strengthen corporate security.
• Hardware and Software Inventory. Automated collection of hardware and software inventory to improve IT efficiency in troubleshooting, upgrade planning, and license compliance monitoring.
• Configuration Management. Deployment and lockdown of standardized applications, buttons, and configuration settings to reduce support costs and provide a consistent user experience.
• File Retrieval. Protection of handheld data on the network to prevent costly data loss.
• Queries and Reports. Pre-defined and custom reports regarding devices, applications, and policies to simplify analysis and export information to other applications.

With ZENworks for Handhelds, IT can centrally enforce the use of passwords, deploy standard images and content, update applications, identify lost devices, lockdown configurations, and monitor license compliance for Palm, Windows CE, Pocket PC, and soon RIM Blackberry devices. Designed to address the unique characteristics of mobile computing, ZENworks for Handhelds optimizes sporadic, low-bandwidth connectivity using techniques such as compression, checkpoint restart, delta technology, and configurable bandwidth usage.

Tight integration with the ZENworks product family allows ZENworks for Handhelds to seamlessly fit into the proven ZENworks management infrastructure already implemented on many networks today. "Novell is the ONLY player that has desktop/laptop, server (cross platform to include NetWare?, NT/2K*, Solaris*, Linux*) as well as handhelds?from ONE console, managed via ONE directory. All products in this family can be utilized together," states Novell's Bourgeois.

A Customer's Perspective: S.H. Leggitt

Dondi Williams, Director of MIS for S.H. Leggitt, is a user of the ZENworks for Handhelds product. Williams felt that their main issues with handheld management were "multiple supported platforms, interoperability, and differences in software." After deploying ZENworks for Handhelds alongside ZENworks for Desktops, S.H. Leggitt has streamlined application management for its handheld users, while eliminating the time and costs associated with the travel previously required to support these devices.

"ZENworks for Handhelds enables our IT staff to push business-critical resources to each handheld user from one centralized location, connecting our workforce to the applications and tools they need anytime, anywhere," Williams stated. "Thanks to Novell, we can now offer optimal support to all of our offices-from Michigan down to Mexico-without requiring extensive travel or the need to hire additional staff. Thanks to ZENworks for Handhelds, we estimate a time savings of approximately 20 hours a week, which translates to 20 additional hours for our IT staff to focus on higher priorities and tasks at hand, significantly increasing productivity and allowing IT efforts to be more proactive, rather than reactive-that's significant."

Along with enabling centralized management for S.H. Leggitt's handheld users, ZENworks for Handhelds has delivered a stable environment, resulting in immediate, positive impact on users, while requiring a relatively small investment in time and money. ZENworks for Handhelds has improved services and extended overall functionality, without requiring the manufacturer to increase its IT staff by even one technician-a savings of up to $60,000 each year.

In coming months

Over the next few months we'll provide step by step instruction on how you can address the challenges of managing your handheld workforce with ZENworks for Handhelds. Planned topics include securing your mobile workforce, keeping corporate content up to date on handhelds, rolling out handheld applications in the enterprise, locking down handheld configurations, and managing RIM Blackberry. Stay tuned!

In the meanwhile, let us know about your handheld challenges or share your experiences by writing us at zwmag@novell.com.

More Information

For more information on ZENworks for Handhelds:
Visit http://www.novell.com/products/zenworks/handhelds

For a free 90-day trial of ZENworks for Handhelds:
Visit http://download.novell.com

Related articles:
Novell Customer Showcase: S.H. Leggitt, http://www.novell.com/success/shleggitt.html

Footnote

(1) "What Does Trustworthy Computing Mean for Pocket PC?", Gartner Research Note, 27 August 2002, D. Wiggins, R. Simpson, D. McHugh.

? 2003 Novell, Inc. All rights reserve, Novell, NetWare and ZENworks are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc in the United States and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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