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Synchrologic recently conducted a 2002 Handheld Trends survey to help our newsletter readers understand what other IT managers are thinking about handheld computing. The web-based survey drew 156 responses from IT managers in a variety of industries. We appreciate the respondents taking the time to complete the survey, and are happy to present the results below.
The raw results follow our high level analysis of the results.
Within a year the majority of handhelds will be centrally managed. As handheld devices are becoming more prevalent, an increasing number of IT organizations are moving or being forced to move towards centralized support. Over 70% of the respondents expected to centrally purchase and manage handhelds within 18 months, with just over 40% already there. As expected, we saw that Pocket PC has made big headway in garnering market share from Palm in the enterprise.
Mobilizing enterprise applications is starting to gain momentum. While just under 10% of the respondents have already mobilized their enterprise applications to handheld devices, 50% plan to do so within the next 18 months.
Email is the most likely application to be mobilized. Email and PIM data are often the first application to be mobilized, emphasizing the key role Email plays in both internal and external business communication.
Wireless is the preferred method of connectivity, despite the challenges. Wireless connectivity options were very much preferred compared to wireline modems. Apparently the convenience outweighs concerns about costs, coverage, standards, and bandwidth.
"Unexpected" business drivers are pushing companies to mobilize. We expected in the current economic environment that most projects would be justified by a formal ROI analysis. But it appears that the ability to build competitive advantage and provide heightened levels of customer service is strong enough justification for many firms currently going mobile.
Survey Questions And Answers
| 1. What is your organization's time frame for centrally managing and purchasing handheld mobile devices such as Pocket PC and Palm OS devices? |
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| 2. What types of handheld mobile devices are currently supported in your organization? |
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| 3. What is your organization's time frame for mobilizing enterprise applications such as CRM, ERP, and SCM to handhelds? |
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| 4. What is the time frame for allocating spending on mobilizing enterprise applications to handhelds? |
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| 5. What types of enterprise applications would your organization likely mobilize to handheld devices? |
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| 6. Who will be the primary users of handheld technologies? |
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| 7. What is the level of priority placed on investment in extending existing system to handheld devices? |
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| 8. Which of the following do you see as roadblocks to successful wireless handheld projects in your organization? |
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| 9. What are the key business drivers that have lead your organization to deploy or plan deployment of handheld devices? |
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| 10. Which types of mobile connectivity options will your organization support for handhelds? |
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