On October 18th, Palm announced that they are currently working on the development of two products, the Palm HotSync Server and Palm Ethernet Cradle. By using both of these products, Palm device users will be able to synchronize their Palm devices with corporate (enterprise) data and even their own data by placing their organizer in a Palm Ethernet Cradle that's connected to a Palm HotSync Server via the corporate network. One of the somewhat surprising, yet great, things about the Palm HotSync Server product announcement is the news that it will work not only with products running the Palm OS, but with Windows CE devices as well. This seems to be a sign to indicate just how serious Palm Computing is about making this a flexible enterprise solution for managing handheld devices.

For example, say you're attending a meeting in Building 10 of your multi-building company and realize that you never performed a HotSync to get your email or the project planning database that resides on one of the company's servers. Rather than having to walk ten minutes or so back to your desk in Building 1, you can, instead, place your Palm device in a Palm Ethernet Cradle that resides in the meeting room. Then, you'll be able to HotSync with your vital corporate and personal data through the Palm HotSync Server on the network.

The beginning of a new era
Palm's press release heralds these announcements as part of its plan to "extend its leadership position in the enterprise handheld market." I think this is one case where the language of the press release will live up to the reality. There are already products on the market that enable Palm device users to synchronize directly with corporate data residing on servers (see the other players section below for more info on two of them). But the announcement by Palm that they are indeed focusing on developing enterprise solutions really gives a big boost to all of the companies that are developing enterprise solutions for handheld devices.

This announcement also ushers in a new era, the era of the centrally managed Palm device. The Palm HotSync Server software will enable system administrators to set standard configuration settings for Palm devices and do such tasks as install or delete applications. There is a clear advantage to using a Palm device in a corporation that is using a Palm HotSync Server. The advantage is that if your device ever malfunctions, it will be easy to get a replacement unit (what Palm calls a "Hot Swap") right away that has all of the data and applications you need. Another advantage from the corporation's point of view is reduced support costs and the ability to maintain better security over corporate data.