So your company has decided to move forward with the deployment of Pocket PCs to your internal customers. If you work in your company's Information Systems department or are responsible for supporting Pocket PCs or are using your Pocket PC in your enterprise, you will want to read on.

Assessing the environment

The Pocket PCs are different than desktop PCs in many ways. So, the people responsible for deploying Pocket PCs need to understand the unique characteristics that may cause problems with them. For example, if you unplug your PC, all your data is still there. If you run the battery dead on your Pocket PC and don't charge it for a week or two, all your data is GONE! Overall, however, the deployment of Pocket PCs should follow a path similar to that of your PC deployments.

Additional issues include making decisions on what applications can be stored and used on the device with the support of the company. I'm sure that the support staff will often find applications installed on the Pocket PCs that they have not authorized, like some of the high-performance games such as Doom. The staff needs to be prepared technically to remove them and company policy needs to grant them the authority to deal with this sort of situation with the user.

Initial steps before deployment

Staff needs to know which applications are to be installed and synchronized on the Pocket PCs. Further, I highly recommend that the staff have a Pocket PC for testing while preparing for the deployment. This way they can make backups and confirm that the applications work on the Pocket PC before deployment. The staff should document which applications are to be installed on the device, and how. Further, they should track the model number and serial number of each Pocket PC. This will help when they have to deploy more Pocket PCs or restore one if a user's machine gets damaged or stolen.

Examples of applications that I recommend for installation on all Pocket PCs include VXUtil from Cambridge Associates (www.cam.com), which provides TCP/IP configuration information and utilities; RegKing 2002 from Information Appliance Associates (www.doctorce.com), which provides easy Pocket PC customization; and Transcriber, built into the Pocket PC 2002, and on the installation CD of the original Pocket PC.

Creating backups

There are two ways to create a backup for your Pocket PC. The first is to use ActiveSync to create a full backup. This backup is stored on your desktop and allows you to restore your Pocket PC from this machine only. The second is to use the built-in backup option that each OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) offers to copy all the programs and data to a CompactFlash card. This approach requires the user to have a CompactFlash card and to perform a backup to the card on a regular basis. I have found that the CompactFlash card backup is faster than using ActiveSync. Also, the CompactFlash card can be used to restore without using your desktop PC, so your users can restore their data while in the field if they are able to charge their Pocket PCs. I have found that after having restored my iPAQ from a flash card, I have to set up a new partnership. When the PC has prompted me to set up a new partnership and sync, I have been successful in selecting the option to merge the data; however, there have been occasional duplicate records. I recommend that the staff train the users to use a CompactFlash card for backup of their Pocket PCs while they are in the field.

Training users

As part of the deployment plan, I highly recommend that users receive training in the basics of how Pocket PCs work. Some issues that people are commonly unaware of include: the relationship of their data to the battery life of their device (i.e.: if you run the battery dead your data may be deleted); the Pocket PC's tap-and-hold model, which replaces the right-click functionality of desktop PCs; how to use ActiveSync; where to store data on the storage card; how to transfer data; how to print; what a soft reset is, etc. By preparing users for some of the unique characteristics of the Pocket PC experience, you will minimize the number of support calls in the future for some of these common problems.