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Companies today are applying increased scrutiny to potential IT purchases, and insisting on a solid ROI case before deploying new technology. Users increasingly demand mobile email access since they intuitively understand the value. Yet little formal ROI analysis has previously been available.

This paper looks at various ROI components for providing handheld email access to Email utilizing either wireless or wire line connections. This analysis assumes a centrally-managed server-based approach, generally regarded as more secure, manageable, and cost effective than massive deployments of desktop sync or desktop redirector software.

Basic selection criteria are identified, ending with a review of how to accelerate ROI by requiring specific features.

Understanding Handheld Costs

To understand the ROI for handheld Email we start with a generous estimate of the total investment. If you have already invested in devices, the ROI on an Email server solution will actually be much greater.

TCO estimates for handheld devices vary greatly. Gartner Group in a recent note estimated the total cost at approximately $4,300. Obviously this will vary depending on connectivity options, hardware selections, additional software installations, etc. Thus for many companies, the Gartner estimate appears to be a high end estimate. We have worked with clients who have built comprehensive TCO estimates ranging from $1,800 to some slightly more than the Gartner figure. Typically a more expensive device and better connectivity also drive a bigger productivity impact. Remember that every organization, and even every user community within the organization, is different.

The following components should be considered in building your customized TCO estimate:

• Device
• Modem
• Connectivity
• Training
• Deployment
• Software
• Support
• User Operations

ROI Case: Boosting Productivity

The basic driver for handheld Email ROI is the added productivity that users experience. Most users quickly become addicted to pervasive email access and innately understand the value in terms of added time on task, greater levels of customer service, increased responsiveness, and more timely information delivery.

In terms of quantifying this basic productivity, users find that they are able create additional productive time in their daily life. Waiting for meetings to begin, stuck in traffic jams, in the back of taxis, waiting for a flight…what was previously wasted time is quickly converted to additional time on task. Because of the relative inexpensiveness of handhelds, the benefits are striking:

This analysis provides the core business case for providing handheld Email access, including a very generous TCO estimate. Our estimate for productivity impact is very conservative, we hear from many users that the gains can actually be an hour or two per DAY.

ROI Case: Eliminating Laptops

Many executives, sales staff, and road warriors utilize expensive business-class laptops as nothing more than glorified Email machines. Companies can realize significant savings by replacing these expensive machines with desktop PCs for home/office use, and PDAs for mobile access.

The above savings relates simply to the capital acquisition costs during planned upgrades. Other TCO factors are higher for laptops compared to handhelds, so the total savings is even greater. A compelling soft benefit is not included in the calculations: ditching the laptop for a handheld while traveling increases mobile worker job satisfaction greatly.

"Faced with an expensive laptop upgrade, we turned to Pocket PCs and Synchrologic to help us cut 50% out of our capital acquisition budget, contributing almost a half million dollars to the bottom line…and giving our users a better tool to do their job."
    -  Rick Rawlins, IS Director for a major US executive search firm

Basic Selection Criteria

The following should serve as basic criteria for enabling remote email access:

Centrally managed server approach. Historically, Email and PIM sync to handheld devices was accomplished with desktop-based shrink-wrapped software. This approach effectively compromised the security of corporate groupware systems while limiting ROI by placing an inflated management burden on the end user. Not to mention, the lack of control by IT. Common practice today is to utilize a centrally-managed, secure, server-based approach to providing mobile Email access. This approach has become even more important as wireless networks are evolving, since desktop sync and redirectors typically require the users desktop PC to be left on and attached to the network at all times - a grave security risk.

Support for all PIM types. These include Email, Attachments, Calendar, Tasks, Memos. Advanced data scenarios should be handled properly, especially for complex calendar entries like custom recurring events and meeting requests.

Support for a wide variety of devices. Many times devices have already been brought in the back door, or different departments purchase their own devices without any eye toward a unified corporate standard. It is unlikely in the short term that there will be a unified environment. The solution should support Palm OS handhelds and smart phones, Handheld PCs, Pocket PCs, Pocket PC Phone Edition smartphones, other Windows CE devices, laptops, WAP phones, SyncML compliant devices, and pagers. Although the level of support may vary across platforms, all of the above should be managed from a single solution to save money.

Support for different “delivery” models. Selection of the appropriate delivery model for a particular user community or situation will be decided by factors such as device, useage patterns, geography, and budget considerations. Options include synchronization with local data storage on the device, realtime access to data via Internet browser, realtime access to data via WAP browser, event driven alerts and reminders, and basic SyncML synchronization. Again, all of these options should be supported from a single solution.

User profiles. Flexible profiles allow administrators to set a wide range of configurations, and individual users and groups are then subscribed to the appropriate profile. An unlimited number of unique profiles ensures the flexibility to use a single installation to service a wide variety of user communities, each with their own unique needs. Profiles also facilitate the initial deployment of the client side sync software, as well as recovery from theft or device failure.

Encryption options. A key element of the profile concept is the availability of a wide range of security options. Again, different encryption standards may be appropriate for different user communities so flexibility is key. The mix of AES, Triple-DES, SSL, SSL Plus, and unencrypted should be adequate to serve most any organization.

True server push. For always-connected network devices, server side push ensures real time delivery of Email and calendar updates. Beware of technology vendors that take incoming mail, convert it to a truncated SMS message, and simple broadcast the SMS message to the device. True server side push results in real time additions of new mail and calendar entries within the Inbox and Calendar applications without user intervention.

All of the above features are key decision criteria for delivering basic productivity gains and ensuring a manageable solution. In addition, look for solutions with the follow key features which actually drive incremental return on investment.

ROI Accelerators

Synchrologic believes that certain advanced features accelerate ROI above and beyond the potential identified above. Once you have made the decision to “go for it”, you should insist on these capabilities in order to accelerate ROI.

The email solution should allow for extremely aggressive message truncation and attachment filtering to ensure that baseline ongoing synchronization is very bandwidth efficient. For instance, all email attachments can be screened out, and just the first 300 characters of a given email could be sent. For messages and attachments that seem important, the user should have an easy way to request the attachment or full message body. Our research shows that this can have the following effects on bandwidth consumption:

That $1,000 dollars means an additional yearly ROI bump of 20%. This savings in bandwidth costs does not even include the value of additional user productivity since they can work through their email faster.

Clearly the following list of features will accelerate your ROI by dramatically reducing bandwidth costs:

• Message filtering rules
• Message truncation
• Attachment filtering rules
• Ability to request complete body text for truncated messages
• Ability to request delivery of a filtered attachment
• A simple GUI for reviewing mail and making these requests
• A simple GUI for pre-reviewing mail and making these requests

Now reconsider the basic ROI driver of increased productivity. This paper examined how adding even three hours of extra productivity per week resulted in value added back to the company of over $15,000 for the typical handheld Email user. Obviously small productivity gains have a large cumulative effect for these expensive users.

Any additional functionality that can boost productivity for the mobile worker is welcome, since the hassles of modern business travel require a lot of coordination. This is further distracting for travelers because the ranks of administrative support have been thinned considerably in recent years. Synchrologic’s email solution offers a unique feature called Personalized Information. This capability ensures that mobile workers have access to full travel information from all their devices for their meetings and trips, without any additional effort.

Users treasure this ability for facilitating travel, saving preparation time, and moving them from destination to destination efficiently. Using a very conservative estimate, these capabilities can save users an additional two hours per month, equating to an additional productivity value impact of $2,400 per year. This knocks an extra month off the payback period, and drives ROI to a staggering 414% per year.

The following elements of Personalized Information delivery thus further accelerate your ROI:

• Data
• Flight reservations
• Hotel reservations
• Rental car reservations
• Meeting locations
• Driving directions
• Local weather

• Delivery Methods
• Synchronized locally to handhelds and PCs
• Available via Web or WAP browsing
• Sent to Email capable devices via automatic alerts

Closing

Recent research from META Group uncovers that larger enterprises will lower their TCO and security risks by deploying a mobile platform behind the firewall that is extensible to a number of devices and networks. The research note calls out that additional significant ROI that can be gained by investing in mobile middleware infrastructure. As mobile device adoption increases, users will soon demand access to additional applications and commonly used files that are typically available when connected to the corporate network. These applications and files are the single most valuable information an enterprise can provide its mobile workers. Ideal mobility platforms consist of remote or mobile access to this essential data while providing a single point of administration for IT support as well as the management of devices and software deployments or updates.

"Wireless email should be seen as a first step to deploying enterprise applications, rather than as an end in itself. Companies should choose deployment platforms accordingly."
    -  META Group, "Wireless Email: First Step or Dead End?" December 2002

We hope this paper helps you quantify the productivity gains that have been very apparent to early users of handheld Email access. Synchrologic has been delivering enterprise mobility solutions since 1995, and we believe that Synchrologic Email Accelerator offers the highest ROI available for enabling handheld access to Email. Please contact us to work through an ROI estimate for your specific environment and to arrange a free trial of our solution.