They've also been available from competing framework vendor Computer Associates International Inc. in Islandia, N.Y., through its Unicenter enterprise management software. The real payoffs, however, are in groups. And it's as much about infrastructure as about devices. VicRoads, a government road-maintenance agency in Victoria, Australia, was a TDM beta user. Each day, road inspectors and work crews use a custom application to enter information on road conditions and work performed into a Lotus Notes database.
Managers use information from both groups to make daily assignments.
When mobile staffers synchronize the Palm units, the Device Actuator initiates replication of their data to Palm and Notes servers and delivers the new assignments. TDM was first released in March. New versions due later this year will support Windows CE, let handheld users choose software to download and include Tivoli Device Manager tools for software development. Coming Soon Set for release early next year is support for Epoc32, Europe's leading handheld operating system, and security support for distribution and management of enhanced encryption. Palm last week announced its own management product, HotSync Server synchronization software for Windows NT servers, which is scheduled for release later this year.