E-GUIDE 6.5: Enabling business mobility, today and tomorrow

Windows Mobile: a phrase that embodies on-the-go business initiatives. By marrying today's dominant office computing environment with increasingly compact-but-powerful handheld devices, Windows Mobile OS makes it possible for millions of workers to conduct business on their feet and from the road. According to market research firm iSuppli, Windows Mobile OS already powers more than 27 million , expected to double and more by 2013.

In this e-Guide, we recap Windows Mobile OS’s evolution and look at the wide array of Windows Mobile-powered devices available to unteth - er today's workforces. We'll explore where and why Windows Mobile OS devices are used to support a wide range of mobile apps, from vertical business automation to knowledge worker . Finally, we'll exam - ine the appeal of ready-to-roll apps like Office, Outlook, and Communicator Mobile that integrate seamlessly with enterprise and in- the-cloud Windows services.

Sponsored By: Windows Mobile 6.5: Enabling business mobility, today and tomorrow Table of Contents

E-GUIDE Windows Mobile 6.5: Enabling business mobility, today and tomorrow

Table of Contents:

Windows Mobile OS evolution

Mobilizing business operations

Enabling on-the-go business applications

Resources from

Page 2 of 11 Sponsored by: Windows Mobile 6.5: Enabling business mobility, today and tomorrow Windows Mobile OS evolution

Windows Mobile OS evolution

Windows Mobile OS began its journey as a compact edition of Windows for small devices in 1996, before or BlackBerry were even conceived. Originally Pegasus, Windows CE (WinCE) was created as an industry-standard for early handhelds from Casio, HP/Compaq, LG, NEC, and Philips. Right from the start, WinCE was designed to satisfy requirements like portability, internationalization, and data synchronization that are still essential today.

In those days, handhelds were just personal information managers (PIMs). WinCE nudged this nascent market beyond that niche by running other kinds of applications – in effect, putting a Handheld PC (H/PC) in your pocket. For example, WinCE 1.0 not only synchronized PIM data with , it supported third-party apps developed using a WinCE platform toolkit.

By 1997, H/PCs had taken root and WinCE continued to mature. Over the next three years, Microsoft released updates that extended WinCE 2.x to other kinds of devices. Many new products, from consumer electronics to automotive , incorporated WinCE as compact-but-scalable embedded operating system. "Smart" features could now be implemented by easily updated software, running on inexpensive microprocessors like MIPS, StrongArm and SH3.

During the WinCE 2.x era, H/PCs – aka Palm-sized PCs – capitalized on hardware advances such as color displays and network adapters. By 1998, an H/PC running Windows CE 2.11 (marketed as Handheld PC Pro) could browse the Internet with Explorer and open Microsoft Word, Excel and Access files using included "Pocket" versions of familiar Office apps.

In 2000, WinCE 3.x separated the core operating system that powered diverse devices from the graphical and apps that made mobile handhelds usable. At this point, Microsoft Pocket PC 2000 (today's familiar touch-screen form factor) split from Microsoft Handheld PC 2000 (the old clamshell form factor). As Pocket PC became increasingly popular, it was joined by a new little brother: 2002.

By 2003, wireless was hot – from Wi-Fi and to GSM and CDMA. WinCE 4.x .NET let app developers tap into this mobile connectivity, leading to a new generation of Pocket PCs and smartphones sporting a graphical interface christened . This "mobile" moniker resonated with users, which is why WinCE 5.x and WinCE 6.x-based Pocket PCs and smartphones ran Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6.0, respectively.

Along the way, Pocket PCs (which focused on apps) and smartphones (which focused on telephony) began to merge. For example, Pocket PCs could create and edit Office documents, while smartphones could only view email attachments. But phones "got smarter" and mobile broadband voice and data grew ubiquitous. By Windows Mobile 6.0, this differentiation was reduced to Pro (for touch-screen smartphones) or Standard (for all other smartphones).

Today, Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones (below, right) can run hundreds of Microsoft and third-party apps – includ - ing those hosted on-line at or downloaded from . Because so many users now depend on smartphones to meet business and personal needs, Windows Mobile 6.5 enables collaboration via social

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networks like Facebook and MySpace, messaging with services like Hotmail and Messenger, and email via Exchange, Windows Live Gmail, Yahoo! and others. A redesigned graphical interface with touch-screen gesture support (below, left) delivers faster access to favorite apps, further boosting productivity.

Feature Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard Pro 1. Lock screen message/appointments √ 2. Customizable Today screen √

3. Faster access Start screen √

4. Mobile 6 √ √

5. Windows Marketplace for Mobile √ √ 6. Player Mobile √ √ 7. Microsoft Backup √ √

8. Social networking apps √ √

9. Designer and custom themes √ √

10. MSN Widgets for News/Weather √ √

Top Ten Features in Windows Mobile 6.5 Source: Microsoft

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Mobilizing business operations

Unlike most other smartphone operating systems, Windows Mobile did not start out powering cell phones or pagers. Rather, its operating system heritage gave Windows Mobile OS a head-start on powering small/mobile devices with diverse programming needs. By separating out the WinCE core, Microsoft created an easily embedded modular OS that manufacturers have since incorporated into a wide array of consumer and business products.

The latest version of this core is called Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3. This small (300 KB) 32-bit real-time OS can run multiple tasks concurrently on ARM, MIPS, SH4, and processors, serving as the "brain" for devices commonly found today in homes, stores, factories, hospitals and offices. For example, many consumers own game consoles, digital photo frames, media players, navigation systems, and television set-top boxes based on WinCE (below).

WinCE-Based Consumer Electronic Devices

In addition to the booming consumer electronics market, there are many different WinCE-powered devices used by businesses – especially in vertical markets that can readily benefit from process automation and workflow mobilization. For example:

• Retail establishments and warehouses commonly use barcode and RFID scanners, mobile point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, and kiosk registers that run some flavor of WinCE.

• Factories often employ industrial control systems, process monitoring devices, and human machine interfaces that are based on WinCE.

• Field service and delivery workers often rely on WinCE-powered ruggedized scanners, handheld terminals, and vehicle navigation systems.

• Healthcare workers use IV pumps, bedside/remote monitors, portable ultrasound scanners, and voice- over-IP badges and phones that run on WinCE.

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Mobilizing business operations can increase productivity, reduce data entry errors, and speed responses to customers and co-workers. Specialized devices running WinCE (below) have long helped businesses achieve these goals by enabling mobile or remote access to business data and as-needed communication between business systems and workers. For example, tens of thousands of FEDEX drivers and warehouse workers now record shipment progress and delivery using MC9500 ruggedized WinCE handhelds.

WinCE-Based Embedded Devices

WinCE is popular among device manufacturers because it can adapt to so many varied and challenging hardware platforms while leveraging familiar development tools and expertise. Of course, few end users realize that all of these purpose-built devices use WinCE. When most users hear "Windows Mobile," they picture smartphones. But even Windows Mobile 6.x phones carried by so many knowledge workers today come in a variety of shapes and sizes (below).

WinCE/Windows Mobile 6.5-Based Smartphones

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Why? Diverse jobs call for different devices. On-the-go workforces that conduct business in harsh or wet conditions often require rugged smartphones (right). Mobile professionals who communicate with brief messages may prefer touch-screens with virtual keyboards (center), while those required to precisely input a lot of data benefit from integrated physical keyboards (left).

Beyond intended use, factors like carrier, coverage, network and peripheral interfaces, on-board GPS, expandable storage, battery life, OS version, price, and IT endorsement can also affect smartphone selection. Today, it is common for an IT organization that has standardized on the Windows Mobile OS platform to offer employees a choice of devices that reflect differences in work location, tasks, applications, and personal preference.

Page 7 of 11 Sponsored by: Windows Mobile 6.5: Enabling business mobility, today and tomorrow Enabling on-the-go business applications

Enabling on-the-go business applications

H/PCs, Pocket PCs, smartphones, and Windows Mobile OS Phones are all a means to an end: executing the applica - tions that on-the-go workers need to do their jobs. Apps are where the rubber meets the road -- the battleground that successful mobility initiatives must master.

Recently, smartphone news has been dominated by apps. But IT departments know that most of those apps help consumers carry out personal tasks, stay entertained, and connect with family and friends. Like other operating systems, Window Mobile 6.5 contains several popular consumer apps (e.g., Media Player, Messenger, AIM/Yahoo!/Windows Live Instant Messaging) and can download new apps from a modest-but-growing Windows Marketplace (below). Value-added consumer apps that benefit from high-speed mobile broadband are often bundled with smartphones sold by carriers – for example, the Samsung Intrepid from Sprint arrives with Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, Sprint NFL Mobile Live, and Sprint NASCAR apps.

Windows Mobile 6.5 Instant Messaging, , and Marketplace Apps

However, consumer apps – even business-to-consumer apps from companies like Comcast and Pizza Hut – do not alone deliver workforce mobility. For most enterprises, achieving mobility will require a combination of native, third-party, and perhaps custom business apps. Windows Mobile 6.5 is well positioned to support this thanks to its mature SDK, Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN), and integration with dominant enterprise office applications, communication services, and management infrastructure.

For example, every Windows smartphone includes a Outlook Mobile client that can synchronize email, appointments, tasks, and contacts with any resident or hosted Microsoft Exchange . Although other contemporary operating systems do this to some extent using ActiveSync, Windows Mobile 6.5 is uniquely positioned to fully exploit current and future Exchange capabilities, including -based enrollment/pro - visioning, unified/visual inbox, messaging, and lost device lock/wipe.

Furthermore, every Windows smartphone includes Microsoft Office Mobile productivity apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) used to view and/or edit documents. Windows Mobile OS Phone users can deal with email attachments in their native format, without installing "readers." Better yet, devices that connect securely to busi - ness networks using the embedded Windows Mobile 6.5 VPN can directly access documents "inside the firewall" – including those on resident or hosted Office SharePoint sites.

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Windows Mobile 6.5 Microsoft Office Apps

These and other "out of the box" Office apps can be augmented by horizontal and vertical business apps, purchased from Microsoft or its partners. For example, enterprises that deploy unified communication using Microsoft Communications Server can install Communicator Mobile on employee smartphones. Enterprises that deploy CRM can access that data on-the-go using CRM Mobile Express. Business apps now available from Windows Mobile 6.5 partners run the gamut from field service automation and ERP to financial services and construction. Many of these business apps were originally implemented on earlier incarnations of Windows Mobile OS to leverage its broad hardware support, multi-tasking capabilities, and familiar Windows heritage.

Finally, every enterprise deployment requires the ability to manage, track and secure those on-the-go devices and the valuable data they carry. Windows Mobile OS was not the first to excel at this but has made strides recently – especially for enterprises that use Windows network and security infrastructure. For example, starting with Windows Mobile 6.1, users can self-activate smartphones enrolled in Active Directory and provisioned through Group Policy Objects, all under the direction of Microsoft System Center MDM. Individuals and small businesses without infra - structure can easily back up and remotely lock/wipe lost Windows smartphones using the free Microsoft My Phone service (below).

Microsoft My Phone

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Windows Mobile 6.5 may not have the "sizzle" of new consumer smartphones or the breadth of personal apps they are so well known for supporting. But Windows Mobile 6.5 builds upon a lengthy history of enabling workforce mobility with business apps and the infrastructure needed to support them. Windows Mobile 6.5 enhancements and hardware advances like gesture support will help this mature platform appeal to both IT depart - ments and end users.

About the author: Lisa Phifer is president and co-owner of Core Competence, a consulting firm focused on busi - ness use of emerging network and security technologies. At Core Competence, Lisa draws upon her 27 years of network design, implementation and testing experience to provide a range of services, from vulnerability assess - ment and product evaluation to user education and white paper development. She has advised companies large and small regarding the use of network technologies and security best practices to manage risk and meet business needs. Lisa teaches and writes extensively about a wide range of technologies, from wireless/mobile security and intrusion prevention to virtual private networking and network access control. She is also a site expert to SearchMobileComputing.com and SearchNetworking.com.

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Resources from Microsoft

Comparing Research in Motion and Solutions

About Microsoft: Microsoft products include operating systems for personal computers, server applications for client/server environments, business and consumer productivity applications, and interactive media programs, and Internet platform and development tools. Microsoft also offers online services, sells books and input devices, and researches and develops advanced technology software products. Microsoft products, available in more than 30 languages and sold in more than 50 countries, are available for most PCs, including microprocessor-based comput - ers and Apple computers.

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