Wireless information management: wise information managers will begin now to prepare for the day when all records are sent, stored, and retrieved wirelessly.

• Author: Elliott, Ron
• Position: TechTrends

At the Core

This article:

* Discusses wireless network and device trends

* Explains how wireless technology impacts information management today and in the future

* Defines challenges to RIM due to the use of wireless technology

The growing use of handheld digital devices to create, store, transmit, and access information has the potential to change the very nature of how an organization's information resources are managed--or possibly mismanaged. More and more organizations are adopting wireless technology, both for staff away from the office and, in some cases, within the fixed space of their buildings, as a means of reducing the typical plethora of wires linking the electronic workplace together. Wireless access services are being offered in hotels, stadiums, coffee shops, and airport lounges. Clearly, more and more corporate information will be exchanged this way. This brings with it several challenges, depending on the

* capabilities of the device

* nature of the transmitted signal to and from network nodes

* type of information being communicated

Because of the vast potential for the use of wireless technology, an assessment of its impact and the identification of key strategies to ensure that information transmitted wirelessly is managed well are in order.

Wireless Systems

Most wireless business systems consist of handheld devices linked via antenna to a corporate main network that is most often an enclosed or guided network consisting of cables, wires, fiber optics, and narrow-beam signals. Handheld wireless devices communicate by broadcasting signals from their antenna in all directions at the same time (like a continuously growing sphere) because it is not clear where the receiving node might be. To "talk" to the handheld device, the network node radiates spherically as well.

Today's handheld devices store, transmit, and display information in a digital format. While handheld digital devices were initially self-contained (being mainly organizers, calendars, and note-taking devices), the linking of handheld devices to telecommunications systems via wireless services is creating another major shift in how people work with information.

From a wireless communications perspective, handheld devices fall into three main categories:

1. Those lacking--as yet--wireless telecommunications facilities

2. Those with user-controlled connection to a wireless facility

3. Those always connected

   A brief description of devices in each of these categories provides insight into the evolving technology.

   No Specific Wireless Facilities

   * Personal digital assistants (PDAs): These began as name and address organizers with calculators and calendars and evolved to include notepads and an ability to understand handwritten characters. The Palm series of PDAs is the de facto standard. Often PDAs can be hard connected (by wire) to desktop PCs to share files, thereby allowing the information in the PDA to be synchronized with information in the PC. As a result, businesses have adopted them because of their ease of use in remote locations, their ability to cross-link names and addresses, and their ability to integrate calendar information with corporate files. PDAs have about 1-2 MB of local memory.

   * Pocket computers: The limited functionality of PDAs is not enough for users who wish to create reports, work with presentation software, use spreadsheets, and work with other applications remotely but who don't want to carry a laptop. To meet this need, vendors have produced a handheld PC that is smaller than a laptop. These devices provide access to telecommunications either through a built-in modem or through a wireless network with an add-on accessory. The memory of such devices is often in the 100 MB range, and newer types include drives with memory from 2-10 GB.

   Connected to Wireless Systems

   * Mobile phones: While cellular phones are basically in an "on" mode, they nevertheless require user action to initiate connection--either to receive or place a call. The cell phone is mainly used for voice, but integration of textual and graphics information is...