Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have become the must-have device for many employees to track their schedules and perform their daily routines. However, new research by Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT) shows that these handheld devices can take up large amounts of an enterprise's IT budget. GartnerGroup's total cost of ownership (TCO) model for handheld devices shows a $450 PDA can cost an enterprise nearly $2,700 per year. These findings were presented today during GartnerGroup's flagship conference, GartnerGroup Symposium/ITxpo 99, which is taking place now through October 15 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
"The PDA phenomenon has largely caught IS organizations unprepared," said Ken Dulaney, vice president for GartnerGroup's Research and Advisory program. "There are no funds to support such devices, and integration with network resources is being reluctantly given, since these devices are 95 percent unsecured. To offer support, IS organizations must understand the true resource requirements demanded by these devices."
GartnerGroup analysts point out that PDAs are very powerful computers capable of storing valuable organizational data; these machines have processors, disk drives, and integrated communications just like their notebook cousins-devices all organizations track without question. By not tracking PDAs, enterprises disassemble the hard work done by the IS organization to provide a secure enterprise environment.
"PDAs in most enterprises are purchased by individuals, but as these devices begin to hold ever more sensitive corporate data, they must become managed corporate assets," Mr. Dulaney said. "We recommend that enterprises consider purchasing PDAs for employees to eliminate the uncertainty of who controls the data on the device. As PDAs are 'asset tagged' and thus supported within the enterprise, they incur costs similar to those found on notebooks and other enterprise-owned devices."
GartnerGroup estimates TCO for Palm OS PDAs to be $2,690 per year. The bulk of this money is spent on end-user operations and downtime, which account for 40 percent of cost. Then comes capital, which accounts for 24 percent of cost, administration costs, which total 23 percent of cost, and technical support, which represents 13 percent of cost. The TCO for Windows CE PDAs was slightly higher at $2,790 per year because these devices require more technical support due to the complexity of the user interface.
GartnerGroup Symposium/ITxpo is held in Florida, October 11-15; Brisbane, Australia, October 19-22; Tokyo, October 26-28; France, November 1-4. Driven by client demand, GartnerGroup added Spring Symposium to the event roster last March. The Next Spring Symposium will be held in San Diego, Calif. on April 10-13, 2000.
GartnerGroup also is offering free live Webcasts of the keynote speakers, including Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Computer; Steve Ballmer, president of Microsoft; and Craig Barrett, president and CEO of Intel. See and hear them talk about the latest IT trends, as they discuss, debate and deconstruct the IT issues most crucial to businesses today. In addition, look for free analyst sessions as well as those available for purchase. Just visit Symposium Online http://www.gartner.com/uswebcast to experience the excitement of the premier event of the year.
GartnerGroup analysts are also taking a unique look at the wireless industry during The Great Wireless Experiment. Bob Egan, GartnerGroup research director for wireless communications in North America, and select GartnerGroup analysts, have put away their wireline-based technologies, and for 30 days their communications (both voice and data) are being conducted exclusively with wireless products. A special Web page has been developed to monitor their activities with various wireless products. The site will also be updated with GartnerGroup research findings on the wireless industry. The Great Wireless Experiment Web site can be accessed at www.gartner.com/wireless.
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