Microsoft's Smartphone 2002

Open a magazine or turn on your television and you're sure to be bombarded with advertisements for wireless carriers, touted as the biggest change in your life since the disposable diaper. With names like "Wireless Internet Express," "PCS Vision," "iStream" and others, cellular providers are packaging a pretty name around what we call 2.5G and 3G wireless data networks. These new packet-based network services provide higher speed Internet access over cellular networks than had previously been available. Having these networks in place, however, doesn't mean much without the devices to take advantage of them, devices that make you more productive.

Small form, enterprise function

Until recently, most mobile devices seemed to target the consumer more than the enterprise. However, the recent introduction of hybrid phone/PDA devices from Samsung, Handspring, RIM, and T-Mobile, however, is changing that. With corporate e-mail connectivity, instant messaging, and even Virtual Private Network (VPN) support, the mobile workforce has the tools it needs. Yet along with these features came larger size.

Now that Microsoft has released the long-awaited Smartphone OS, let's explore how you can take advantage of the enterprise features of these pint-sized mobile phones to create a corporate commando.

Get on the 'net—the intranet

Security seems to be the mantra of the IT world today and each corporate server exposed to the Internet brings increased risk. Smartphone can help mitigate that risk by doing its part to help you relocate your application servers from a DMZ (network demilitarized zone, or perimeter network) to an intranet.

Figure 1 shows how most mobile devices, which lack the ability to establish a VPN connection, would require corporate application servers to be located.

Fig. 1. Non-VPN connection

With VPN support on the device and a 2.5G or 3G network that can sustain speeds capable of supporting a VPN connection, those application servers can now be pushed back into the private intranet, a location safer from the hostile attacks that are now so common on public networks. Now, all traffic from the device is encrypted in a secure PPTP tunnel until it reaches the corporate network, as shown in Figure 2.

Fig. 2. VPN connection to application server

Mobilize messaging

Whether you choose to use Microsoft Exchange Server as your messaging and PIM application or not, with the right configuration you can take advantage of the messaging features of Smartphone.

If you are running Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, you have the advantage of using Microsoft's Mobile Information Server (MIS) product, and the included Server ActiveSync application to sync your device to the server which will typically be located in the DMZ or intranet as shown in Figure 3. This offers you a relatively simple and secure (via 128-bit SSL encryption) way to keep your device synchronized with your Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts. However, Smartphone does not integrate with the Tasks and Notes features of Exchange; you won't be able to sync those.

Fig. 3. MIS connection

If Exchange isn't your backend e-mail server, and you don't require Contacts and Calendar to sync directly to the server, the POP and IMAP support within the Smartphone e-mail client will help keep you connected. If you must resort to these, it is highly recommended that you require your users to establish a secure VPN connection into your corporate environment prior to syncing via POP or IMAP, as passing credentials and data in clear text over the Internet is a sure-fire way to attract hackers.

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