If you are like most IT managers or staff, you have already begun to see a major influx of mobile devices into your corporate environment. Some of these devices have been sanctioned by you and distributed by you. Some of these devices have entered your company through employees. Either way, probably the most common request (or demand, as the case may be) made by employees is to be able to access personal information management (PIM) items--things like e-mail, contacts and calendar information. Connecting users to this type of corporate information is a natural extension of the Pocket PC.

Indeed, the first exploration into the use of Pocket PC devices in the corporate enterprise by many IT managers has been in the area of connecting their users to PIM information. But now that the initial integration of Pocket PCs into the corporate enterprise has been mastered, many are beginning to realize--and rightly so--that this merely scratches the surface of its potential functionality. The next area of exploration for IT managers will involve adding applications to Pocket PC devices so that they can be used as true extensions of the corporate enterprise. However, before you venture off on this new expedition, there are several practical items that should be considered.

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First, establish what types of Pocket PC models or other devices are in use in your company, whether these are company sanctioned devices or "rogue" devices that have entered the company through employees. Most importantly, determine if they are robust enough to handle new and additional applications, and then apply hardware standards accordingly. The IT department can impose standards two ways. First, they can require all corporate PDA purchases to be specific models. Or, if employees are purchasing their own devices, they can inform them that only particular models will be supported and integrated into the enterprise.

Next, determine if your employees and corporate management are willing to embrace a new technology that will radically change the way they do business. IT managers will face less resistance if they are able to demonstrate specifically how users and the company will benefit by using Pocket PCs to connect to the corporate enterprise. For example, if you can show users how they can save 30 minutes to an hour per day by using applications loaded on mobile devices, they are more likely to use the solution because they will see a direct benefit to them. If you can demonstrate to management how you can replace expensive laptops with Pocket PCs and still achieve the same results, they will be more likely to approve your project because they will see that you are saving the company money. The bottom line is that in order to increase your chances of success, you must (1) show employees how this will make their lives easier or better, and (2) show management in real dollar terms the return on investment for using Pocket PCs as extensions of the enterprise.

One of the most common questions that IT Managers ask is "What is the best application to start with?" The best answer is: Determine which enterprise data is most valuable to your users and then prioritize. You can easily do this by examining which applications employees commonly access remotely with laptops. This is a natural place to find your first mobile application, as it is possible that these same functions can be performed on a Pocket PC device. Find the best fit and cut your teeth on one mobile application project at a time.