E-Mail Without Wires

We issued our mock RFI to leading companies in the wireless e-mail market. Unfortunately, two prominent players--Microsoft and IBM--were no-shows. IBM declined our invitation without providing a reason, while Microsoft directed us to one of its partners, Infowave, which also declined. The companies that did participate--Extended Systems, Good Technology, Research in Motion (RIM), a Sprint-Seven partnership, Synchrologic and T-Mobile--represent a cross-section of the industry.

They also provide a good mix of technical approaches that match up with the current market. A recent research report from the Yankee Group identified three categories of wireless e-mail:

• Behind-the-firewall server solutions: Organizations that implement behind-the-firewall server systems install gateways that work with existing e-mail environments, primarily Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino, and use public wireless networks to send and receive mail using mobile devices. Extended Systems, Good, RIM and Synchrologic provide behind-the firewall solutions, while both Sprint and T-Mobile offer these systems as options.

• Network-based solutions: Organizations that don't want the management overhead associated with behind-the-firewall solutions can turn to service providers for help, essentially outsourcing the gateway services while still integrating with existing enterprise e-mail systems. Sprint and T-Mobile use this approach.

• Desktop redirectors: In some respects the simplest solution, the desktop redirector distributes the gateway function to individual client computers, where a redirector transparently moves e-mail from the client to the user's mobile device. Desktop redirectors are effective because they link your desktop e-mail client to the mobile device--it doesn't matter what's on the back end. However, this type of solution doesn't scale well, and often has security and reliability problems. Sprint and T-Mobile offer desktop redirector solutions.In 2002, more than three-quarters of the wireless e-mail deployments were behind-the-firewall, according to Yankee Group, which projects a very slight trend toward network-based solutions through 2008 (see "U.S. Corporate Wireless E-Mail Forecast" chart).

Yankee's categorization captures only one dimension of these trends, though. IT managers must examine how vendors aim to deliver wireless e-mail, from device and user-interface perspectives. RIM and Good have spent the most time developing the user interface, going so far as to design and build mobile devices optimized for e-mail. Carriers, meanwhile, focus more on smart phones that integrate e-mail and telephony into a single device designed for their networks (RIM also provides phone/e-mail devices for a variety of networks). The mobile middleware vendors take the most strategic enterprise approach, viewing e-mail as just one of many emerging mobile applications that will require appropriate infrastructure.

Many of today's systems are constrained by the limitations of mobile wireless networks. Some solutions, like Good's, still depend on first-generation, low-bandwidth wireless systems--for example, Cingular's Mobitex, which was designed for paging applications. Confronted with bandwidth limitations, vendors have gotten creative, providing sophisticated data-compression and advanced message-filtering capabilities. In essence, they've proved that it is possible to get serious work done with slow wireless networks. At the same time, most vendors support or plan to support emerging 2.5G cellular wireless systems which, while much slower than a typical LAN connection, may prove to be ideal platforms for wireless e-mail services. Some vendor solutions are network-neutral and will work over any IP connection, including emerging WLAN hotspots. From an enterprise perspective, deploying wireless e-mail services leads to a wide range of selection, implementation and management challenges. First and foremost is integration with existing e-mail systems. Given their market dominance, it's not surprising that most wireless e-mail vendors support Exchange and Domino. A lesser number support IMAP and other popular Internet protocols. But beyond the explicit support of a particular platform, there are subjective issues of how transparently they support those platforms. Synchrologic and Extended Systems support the native e-mail client on a particular device; this is great to the extent that you like the standard e-mail client on your Pocket PC or Palm unit. RIM, Good and Seven reject that approach, asserting that their secret sauce rests in the design of the client e-mail interface.

The second integration issue involves the degree to which vendors support mobile devices already deployed in your organization. Some sites find it very difficult to dictate mobile device types, while others are willing to exercise a heavier hand. Whatever your approach, there's clearly value in a system that provides options. For example, Good supports its own device as well as the RIM platform, and it has promised support for Palm and Pocket PC later this year. T-Mobile markets a variety of offerings, though the jack-of-all-trades syndrome may affect the depth of support you can expect.

Because these e-mail systems pass sensitive information across a public network infrastructure and through open radio airwaves, security is a critical element of the selection process. Fortunately, most vendors have done their homework in this area, providing robust authentication, privacy and auditing capabilities, even going as far as automating the centralized deletion of content on lost and stolen devices.Cover Your Back End

IT professionals have no choice but to focus on back-end issues, but this is an application that demands significant focus on the user experience as well. Processing e-mail on a handheld device is different from doing so in a desktop or notebook computing environment. The most notable difference, of course, is the keyboard--or lack of one.

You'll need to consider other user-oriented issues as well. The quality and broad geographic availability of wireless service is extremely important, as is the conduciveness of the system to offline e-mail processing. Other important concerns include the seamlessness of synchronization when users process e-mail on multiple devices, the ability to process e-mail attachments and the overall ease of use of the application and the mobile operating environment.

Most organizations that consider deploying wireless e-mail also understand the broader issue of the wireless data application infrastructure. In addition to e-mail, most users want PIM capabilities, including synchronized calendaring and access to contact databases, and an increasing number also value instant messaging services. Longer term, organizations may plan to add wireless capabilities to other enterprise information systems, including ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) systems. Most vendors have some capabilities in these areas.

As for price, wireless e-mail systems generally are expensive, mainly because of the cost of wireless data services. Service providers market wireless e-mail as a value-added service, so they're banking on increased connection revenues for their profits. But the costs are there with all the products, even if the wireless e-mail system may be agnostic when it comes to preferred wireless service (for an in-depth analysis of wireless e-mail ROI, see "Evaluating Wireless E-Mail ROI,").MSE's Best Buy

The solutions we evaluated are varied, and each has some advantages, but for our RFI scenario we were most impressed with Synchrologic: Its Mobile Suite provides a strategic in-house mobile middleware infrastructure that not only delivers effective wireless e-mail to a range of different devices, but also addresses other key mobile application and device management needs. Extended Systems provided a similar offering with its XTNDConnect Server, but it lacked the polish of Mobile Suite.

For a more tactical rollout, we might have considered one of the outsourced service offerings from Sprint or T-Mobile, which would have let us get in the game quickly while off-loading the back-end tasks to the carriers. Somewhere in between were the solutions from RIM and Good. More strategic than carrier solutions, these systems are optimized almost entirely for wireless e-mail services, including specialized mobile devices that provide arguably the best mobile mail user experience. However, they lack the flexibility of the middleware solutions.

Because these offerings vary so widely we did not grade them comparatively in a standard report card. In our RFI we asked vendors to analyze ROI; we've summarized their responses in our analysis. We'll lead off with MSE's choice, Synchrologic; other reviews are in alphabetical order. You can find the complete vendor RFI responses here.Synchrologic not only provided the most comprehensive RFI response, but the company also submitted it a day ahead of schedule! It's clear from the proposal that Synchrologic was comfortable addressing all elements of our request--beyond just the wireless e-mail need. It also included optional elements that left us feeling very comfortable that the solution could be applied to future wireless applications.

Synchrologic's Mobile Suite consists of four components, all sharing a common client, mobile gateway server and administration console. The Email Accelerator product, which directly addressed our request, is a behind-the-firewall solution that provides synchronization services for Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, POP and IMAP mail systems, optimized for mobile networks with push delivery, advanced compression and flexible filtering capabilities. Additional modules include File Sync, which gives mobile workers offline access to files and Web pages; Data Sync, which is used to mobilize enterprise applications, including ERP and CRM; and Systems Management, which is used to manage devices, back up files, install and maintain applications, and enforce security policies. Synchrologic asserts that not only are its modules tightly integrated but that their functionality renders them comparable feature for feature with best-of-breed products in each of these four areas.Synchrologic gave us a detailed analysis of the back-end systems needed to meet MSE's requirements, going so far as to estimate the cost of a suitable server. In addition, the company provided an in-depth explanation of the scalability attributes of its solution, including specific examples of environments where very large server farms running competitive offerings were consolidated onto a significantly smaller number of Synchrologic servers. The examples provided gave us the impression that Synchrologic could meet any proposals we could throw at it.

The system's management capabilities are extensive, a clear reflection of the product line's maturity. Synchrologic provides a robust security system, administrative profiles to simplify account maintenance, synchronization capabilities that adapt to network speed, automatic deployment and client/mailbox discovery, real-time monitoring and much more. The system is implemented as a Microsoft Management Console plug-in.

We were impressed with the capabilities of the various optional modules. The device-management system offers functionality competitive with leading mobile device-management platforms. The data-sync module, which is the foundation for building mobile applications, is equally impressive.

Synchrologic supports a wide range of client device platforms, including Pocket PC and Palm OS, PCs running Internet Explorer, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) phones and SyncML-compatible mobile phones. The company's committment to device independence will be welcomed by many organizations, but be prepared to install and maintain Synchrologic client software on all your mobile devices.

A wide range of wireless networks, including 2G, 2.5G and emerging 3G, are supported. The company maintains partnerships with several domestic and international carriers, including T-Mobile, Sprint, Hutchison/3G UK and Telecom Italia. In essence, the Synchrologic solution is network-service-neutral.Synchrologic also sent the most detailed ROI analysis among the proposals submitted. Using what we consider reasonable assumptions regarding added productivity, the company asserted a one-year ROI of 316 percent for a typical professional employee and added that some customers have documented ROIs five times that number. Much of this savings is attributable to the very high cost associated with supporting mobile devices in the absence of a centralized management platform, not just the benefits of wireless e-mail. Nonetheless, even if we'd felt Synchrologic's numbers were inflated a bit, it's clear that the system delivers a reasonable ROI. However, the Synchrologic system is not cheap: You'll pay $115 to $173 per user for e-mail support and more for optional modules. Annual maintenance is 18 percent of the system price.

Synchrologic, (888) 345-SYNC. www.synchrologic.com

Extended Systems presented its XTNDConnect Server as a wireless e-mail solution, emphasizing the system's ability to mobilize virtually any enterprise application in addition to Exchange and Domino, while also providing device-management capabilities for several platforms. The presentation was clear and concise and demonstrated a solid understanding of the enterprise implementation and management issues associated with wireless e-mail. While we found Synchrologic's response to be a little stronger, Extended's XTNDConnect Server offers a very similar solution that should be closely evaluated if you are looking for a behind-the-firewall mobile middleware system.

The XTNDConnect client is installed on mobile devices and provides secure synchronization for network applications. Wireless users are provided with both online and offline capabilities, but it's worth noting that you can sync with servers in a variety of ways.

Extended Systems' response to our request for ROI models was not particularly strong. The company provided a simple field-engineer anecdote where wireless

e-mail could provide substantial staff time savings. The company also offered case studies for 3M and Reuters that, though not applicable to our scenario, spoke to the system's power and scalability.The XTNDConnect Server environment supports a wide range of mobile devices, including Palm OS, Pocket PC, RIM, Symbian and SyncML clients. The system provides a range of device management capabilities, including software deployment, backup and document transfer. The server can also be used for software/hardware inventory and asset tracking.

XTNDConnect Server's security setup appears quite strong. Extended Systems asserted that it is the only system of its kind to use FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards)-compliant encryption modules for end-to-end data integrity. A variety of back-end authentication systems are supported, and the system can delete data from lost or stolen devices automatically. XTNDConnect Server also supports synchronization of PIM information, including contacts, calendars, tasks and notes, on all major device platforms. Advanced filtering capabilities let you selectively download content over slow links.

We sometimes have trouble getting vendors to supply detailed pricing information, but that wasn't the case with Extended Systems--it sent us its global price list for the entire product line. Implementing this system will require a substantial resource commitment: The enterprise server costs $20,000, and clients are priced on a sliding scale and with different feature combinations, at prices from $95 to $245. Discounted bundles of the server and client packs are available, as is a less expensive Standard Groupware Edition, which lacks device management and customized mobile application capabilities.

Extended Systems, (208) 322-7575, (800) 235-7576. www.extendedsystems.com Good Technology is a three-year-old company that has emerged as a force in this industry by combining an effective bidirectional wireless sync architecture with support for BlackBerry devices and its own state-of-the-art handheld device. The company has solid venture backing and claims to have systems installed in more than 500 enterprises. Good's proposal was excellent, though there are some significant limitations, notably limited device support, exclusive reliance on the Mobitex network and support for Exchange only.

Good's bidirectional sync is its biggest selling point against RIM, clearly its most visible rival and the litigant in four lawsuits against Good (see "RIM To Take Good to Trial").The system is, in fact, quite compelling from a user perspective. There's no need for cradle synchronization or for desktop software--of significant interest to IT. When you delete a message on your Good handheld, it is also deleted from Exchange. Likewise, if you make changes in Outlook on your desktop system in an Exchange environment, those changes are propagated to the handheld automatically.

The GoodLink Server is a behind-the-firewall system that integrates with Exchange. When new messages arrive at the user's inbox, the GoodLink Server compresses them and sends them over a secure connection to the GoodLink Operations Center, which routes the message to the appropriate device using 3DES encryption and a positive acknowledgement architecture that addresses both security and reliability. The server runs on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 and tightly integrates with Exchange 5.5 or 2000.

GoodInfo is Good's solution for integration with other enterprise applications, allowing for the delivery of Web-based contents to Good clients using a query/response architecture. The system does not appear to be as mature as competitive offerings, and we cringed when we read Good's assertion that the system is so easy that corporate developers could create wireless applications in minutes. Right. At the same time, we were impressed that Good included a detailed description of a GoodInfo application developed by Bechtel, a company whose business resembles MSE, our fictitious engineering-services company.

Good's response to our request for ROI models resulted in citation of a study by research and analysis firm Ipsos-Reid (now Ipsos-Insight), but instead of focusing on e-mail processing efficiency and reduced downtime, Good emphasized the system's potential to reduce monthly dial-up costs by 54 percent and cell-phone costs by 15 percent. Good also suggested that some organizations might save on laptop-deployment costs, presumably with users who would use handheld devices instead of notebooks.

Good's device support is limited to RIM BlackBerry and its own G100 device, but the company says it plans to add support for Palm OS and Pocket PC this year. Given its support for BlackBerry, we're comfortable that Good will be able to port its application to the other platforms, but we wonder whether there will be much in the way of device management available.While Good touts its system as designed to work with a variety of wireless networks, it runs only on Mobitex. Support for GPRS and CDMA 1x is scheduled to be added soon after press time, making its offering significantly more credible.

The price of the GoodLink system includes both upfront and recurring costs, and we appreciated Good's easy-to-understand pricing model. The GoodLink Server costs $2,000 plus $50 for each user. Recurring maintenance is 18 percent of the system purchase price. Good's G100 devices cost $399, and the per-user charge for use of the Mobitex network and Good's Operations Center is $34.99 per month plus a $25 activation fee.

Good Technology, (408) 400-4800l, (866) 7-BE-GOOD. www.good.com

RIM is the early market leader in enterprise wireless e-mail, with about 400,000 users in about 200 enterprises, according to Gartner estimates. Many users like the always-on, e-mail push approach, as well as the BlackBerry devices, which have an elegant design. And now that RIM offers special device models that support most of the popular cellular voice standards, as well as local Java applications, the BlackBerry is morphing into a multifunction communication device. It's an appealing solution, but the overall system design lacks some of the power of RIM's upstart competitors.

RIM's response to our RFI was very good, providing a clear description of the system's architecture as well as the company's position in the wireless e-mail market, stressing the availability of a range of RIM-compatible mobile applications that could be of interest to MSE.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server is a behind-the-firewall solution that centralizes control of handhelds and manages secure connections between handhelds and the enterprise, including support for Exchange and Domino, ISP e-mail, and RIM's own e-mail service. The latest version for Exchange extends the system's capabilities beyond e-mail to other types of corporate data.The BlackBerry system has a push architecture. When an e-mail message arrives in a user's enterprise inbox, a copy is pushed to the handheld. However, unlike rival Good, the system does not provide bidirectional wireless synchronization of e-mail, though RIM does offer bidirectional calendar sync. To synchronize mobile and desktop e-mail, you must cradle the BlackBerry at your desktop or notebook. While such an approach may be viewed as an inconvenience, the wired sync approach does let users perform some tasks, including message filtering and application installation, more quickly than if they were performing these operations wirelessly.

The BlackBerry wireless device's many variations provide much more than simple e-mail. They are full-featured handheld computers that include an integrated Web browser and lots of third-party applications. RIM takes advantage of these capabilities by offering a Web client designed to access Internet-standard e-mail in real time, but the system supports only POP3.

RIM stressed the maturity of its server platform and a number of management-oriented features. It effectively addressed issues of scalability, security and low-cost administration, demonstrating a clear understanding of some of the most important enterprise issues. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server includes a nice selection of device-management capabilities, including policy-based remote deployment and upgrade of desktop and handheld software, performance monitoring tools, alert notification, event monitoring and asset tracking. RIM has been certified as FIPS-140-compliant, which is often a requirement for government-oriented applications.

RIM's Mobile Data Service is its solution for wireless-enabling other enterprise applications. The standards-oriented system allows access to data through the BlackBerry browser or via Java applications. RIM also touted its third-party developers that offer specialized BlackBerry-enabled applications supporting CRM, ERP, SFA (sales force automation), business intelligence and decision support.

In addressing the issue of ROI, RIM provided results of a recent study by Ipsos-Reid. The study found that more than 90 percent of BlackBerry users felt the system improved their ability to stay on top of e-mail and convert downtime into productive time, almost an hour per day on average.BlackBerry devices are sold by wireless carriers, typically for $350 to $500; carriers bundle them with specific service plans, which begin at about $40 a month but can often exceed $100 for typical users. Pricing for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server begins at around $1,000 for five users, increasing to $5,000 for 20 users, with additional licenses available on sliding price scale.

Research In Motion, (519) 888-7465, (877)-BLK-BERRY. www.blackberry.com Both Seven and one of its primary business partners, Sprint, submitted responses to our RFI. However, because Sprint's service is based on Seven technology and Seven does not market directly to enterprises, we consolidated the two responses.

Sprint offers two major varieties of wireless e-mail service. Business Connection Personal Edition is a desktop-redirector solution, an effective choice if you plan to provide service to a limited number of users. For more ambitious enterprise deployments, Sprint offers Business Connection Enterprise Edition, a managed service that depends on an extranet relationship between your organization and Sprint, where your e-mail servers are integrated into Sprint's back-end solution.

Business Connection Enterprise Edition is a full-featured wireless e-mail system that uses bidirectional wireless sync for e-mail and PIM services. A specialized client application is installed on the mobile device, providing access to e-mail and PIM information, including scheduling, personal and group contacts, and task information. To take advantage of e-mail push and sync capabilities, you need to install client software, but the system also supports online operation via a smart browser application, where the system optimizes the display for specific mobile device browsers. The specialized client application provides a number of advanced capabilities, including an optimized sync protocol that updates only changes, multi-inbox access for users who have multiple e-mail accounts, flexible offline capabilities, integrated attachment viewing for a wide range of file formats and voice-response-to-e-mail capabilities.

In terms of device management, all systems can be registered and provisioned wirelessly, client software can be updated over the air, and a wide range of Web-based usage reports are available.Although Sprint didn't provide much detail on the service, Seven highlighted the Business Connection Server-based connection alternative. In this case, the Seven server is installed and managed behind the firewall, with Sprint used primarily as a wireless carrier. Although the managed-service solution provides integration with a wide range of back-end e-mail environments, not all services are available with the server-based solution.

Online browser-based access is supported on a number of different devices, including WAP-browser cell phones, Pocket PC, Handspring (Blazer browser), and, if using a notebook computer, via Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Client software used for push e-mail services is available for PalmOS and Pocket PC. As you might expect, Sprint targets the smart-phone market, including Handspring Treo, Samsung i3x0 and i500, and Toshiba 2032.

In response to our inquiry about ROI, Sprint presented an interesting model that showed how a company with a $20 million market capitalization, 150 employees and a 20 percent market share could recognize a quantifiable return of $18.2 million over five years. While we appreciated Sprint's attempt to be specific, its model is loaded with assumptions that seem tenuous at best, including the assumption that market share was directly related to employee-hours of effort.

A managed services model represents a low-risk approach that can be quickly implemented, but it does not provide the kind of long-term flexibility you'll get with a behind-the-firewall solution. According to Sprint, though, it is much less expensive, and we're inclined to agree. Sprint and Seven both provided results of internal analysis that pegged monthly per-user cost of ownership at $27, compared with more than $64 for competing solutions. A big portion of this savings is attributable to a lower cost for wireless service, which makes sense in those competitive instances where mobile staff would have separate wireless e-mail and cell-phone accounts.

Sprint (PCS division of Sprint), (800) 829-0965, (800) 480-4727 (telesales). www.sprintpcs.com/bizcon.html

Seven, (650) 381-2500. www.seven.comT-Mobile is a global wireless carrier with a well-deserved reputation as a leader in advanced cellular data services. It offers GSM/GPRS services in more than 8,000 U.S. cities, including 45 of the top 50 markets. When using its multimode WorldClass service, T-Mobile also provides services in 100 countries around the globe. Finally, the company has the world's largest publicly accessible Wi-Fi hotspot network, with 2,200 hotspots in the United States and 200 in Europe.T-Mobile does not have a single wireless e-mail solution. Instead, through a variety of partnerships, it supports a number of offerings on its network, including those from RIM and Synchrologic. In addition, T-Mobile supports a Web-based service, called t-zones, that provides online portal services, including e-mail. The e-mail component comes from TeamOn Systems, which was recently purchased by RIM. T-Mobile also supports Infowave's Infowave Mobile Messaging (IMM) system, which provides a secure behind-the-firewall solution for Exchange users. This system requires special client software that runs on Handspring Treo and Pocket-PC Phone Edition devices.

As noted, T-Mobile also provides Wi-Fi hotspot services, letting individuals use virtually any IP-compatible e-mail client capable of connecting back to enterprise servers. Although its coverage is limited, T-Mobile is a pioneer in this market. In addition, the company makes the point that customers can use their GPRS network for wireless mail services. Unfortunately, the integration between GPRS and Wi-Fi is limited, but you can expect that situation to improve.

T-Mobile provided a general analysis of ROI, suggesting that a wireless e-mail deployment can be cost-justified if employees realize increased productivity of as little as 15 minutes per day. In addition, because carrier fees make up a substantial portion of the recurring costs associated with wireless e-mail deployment, T-Mobile asserted that its offerings are very cost-effective because the company extends the lowest service fees and broadest domestic and international coverage for high-speed data services. However, partly because of the variety of service alternatives offered by the company, T-Mobile did not provide specific details regarding cost of ownership.

T-Mobile, (800)-TMOBILE. www.t-mobile.com

Dave Molta is a senior technology editor at Network Computing. He is also an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and director of the Center for Emerging Network Technologies. Molta's experience includes 15 years in IT and network management. Write to him at [email protected].Post a comment or question on this story.

Executive Summary | Scenario | Evaluating Wireless E-Mail ROI

Executive Summary

Networking technology is, at its core, all about facilitating communications. In our RFI for a wireless e-mail service for our fictitious MSE firm, we assessed:

• System architecture supported, including client and server application requirements, location of wireless e-mail gateways, synchronization and scalability, support for wireless applications besides e-mail, high-availability features and management capabilities

• Return on MSE's investment as it attempts to serve the needs of remote sales and field support/project management staff• Device types supported, including specialized messaging devices optimized to work with the vendor's wireless e-mail system

• Wireless service support, coverage footprints

• Cost of ownership, including cost of devices (where applicable), cost of client and server software, cost of wireless services, and recurring support/maintenance costs

In addition, we examined specific product capabilities, support services, market positioning and vendor viability. Our comparison chart offers a breakdown of each vendor's offering. For MSE's needs, we selected Synchrologic's Mobile Suite; its in-house mobile middleware infrastructure was compatible with a wide range of devices while fulfilling our request for expanded mobile application support and solid device management.

Scenario: McDonald and Seifert Engineering

McDonald and Seifert Engineering is a vertically integrated engineering-services firm working in such areas as water resources, wastewater management and environmental services. The company offers consulting, engineering, scientific investigations, laboratory analysis, construction management and contract operations and maintenance services. Its clients include an international roster of several hundred customers in both the public and private sectors.

MSE has 800 employees working out of offices in 13 U.S. states and five foreign countries, including a distributed direct sales force of 75 people and 300 field employees working on the many engineering projects being managed by the company. Field staff often work out of temporary facilities in remote locations. Maintaining effective communications with the sales and field support staff is an ongoing challenge, and the firm is heavily dependent on both cellular voice and e-mail communications. About 74 percent of the staff relies on Microsoft Exchange for e-mail services, while the balance--new employees of MSE by virtue of a recent acquisition--use Lotus Domino. Long-range plans call for consolidation onto a single messaging platform, probably Exchange, but that is unlikely to occur until late 2004.

Most of MSE's remote employees access e-mail via notebook computers by dialing to a remote-access VPN. Almost half of the remote employees also use PDAs, including devices from Palm and Compaq and even a few smart phones from Samsung and Handspring. Most of these devices have been acquired by the employees. While MSE's IS staff attempts to provide support when problems arise, the company has no official supported platform and has not deployed any enterprise applications to these devices. The most common applications are maintenance of address books and synchronization of appointment schedules with Microsoft Outlook.

Although MSE would prefer to accommodate personal preferences and deliver e-mail services to a range of different devices, it's clear that standardizing on a single platform would be more efficient. MSE management feels that employee resistance to standardization would be manageable, provided the services available would be perceived as beneficial to most employees. MSE understands that the implementation of wireless e-mail services will likely result in increased service fees, but it hopes that at least some of these costs will be offset by a reduction in cellular-phone usage. The company also envisions eventual implementation of other mobile applications and would like to acquire an extensible wireless e-mail system to support a range of back-end systems.Vital Stats

• 800 employees

• 6 countries, including the United States, with MSE offices

• 375 mobile employees

Evaluating Wireless E-Mail ROIEnhanced communications is one of those benefits that drive budget analysts nuts. Unlike many IT projects, it's extremely difficult to quantify the returns associated with a wireless e-mail system. But the difficulty of documenting the benefits doesn't mean they aren't real.

We're willing to accept the general notion that wireless e-mail increases productivity, particularly in organizations that have a large number of field sales and support staff. However, delivering these benefits is costly. A recent Meta Group study estimated the per-user cost for a wireless e-mail system at approximately $1,600 per year, a number high enough that few organizations are able to demonstrate positive ROI. According to Meta many, if not most, wireless e-mail projects are driven by a desire to provide premium convenience services to senior management. In short, politics, rather than economics, drives implementation.

If this description fits your organization, consider a network-service or desktop-redirection model. While somewhat more tactical, they tend to be less expensive when a small number of employees need to be equipped with wireless e-mail.

If you are thinking more strategically, you might view wireless e-mail as a way to get your feet wet in supporting mobile applications. Viewed from this perspective, it may not be necessary to establish compelling ROI because many of the benefits lie in building the infrastructure and gaining the experience necessary to support future mobility applications. If you do try to establish ROI, consider both staff efficiency and effectiveness in your benefit calculations. The efficiency benefits of wireless e-mail come in several flavors. For example, if mobile staffers can process e-mail while waiting for an airline flight or appointment, that can translate into significant time savings, which can easily be monetized. If you believe Meta's estimate of $1,600 per employee per year, that means a typical $75,000-per-year employee would need to recover less than 50 hours of time per year--less than an hour per week--to break even.

Of course, more efficient use of dead time is not the only benefit of wireless e-mail. Equipping remote workers with timely information, which can often translate into better service or more closed sales, is where the real benefits reside. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to quantify these factors, so you'll have to rely on common sense and experience to incorporate them into your ROI analysis.

Because these offerings vary so widely we did not grade them comparatively in a standard report card. In our RFI we asked vendors to analyze ROI; we've summarized their responses in our analysis.The responses to our questionnaire (from thoese who responded) are below in PDF format: