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The changing face of wireless synchronization: SyncML--for the occasionally connected.

Article Excerpt
What better way to move intelligence than via swift wireless connections, right? But how close is the mobile market to being able to provide cost-effective, reliable wireless synchronization that is based on a standard platform?

As we move towards a more interactive and pervasive mobile world supported by local and wide area wireless networks, synchronization is suddenly not just an occasionally used backend function, but instead a core underlying technology. It has taken on a whole new meaning in terms of swapping updated information back and forth and building collaborative information networks that can be shared by many people throughout the same organization and at multiple locations.

The purpose of this article is to talk about one of the core underlying technologies --SyncML, an industry standardization effort launched in February 2000. But first, a brief discussion of how the majority of mobile users work in the world of online access, which means they connect the handheld device to a network whenever they need to work and access the application via a browser.

There are several challenges with this model:

* Availability: Mobile users must track down a telephone line or be in an area that has wireless coverage to connect to a network and use an application. Lack of availability of the network can impact user satisfaction and user productivity.

* Cost: With online access, a lot more data may be transmitted over the network than is necessary. Every screen and all interaction between the device and server must be transmitted over the network, which could lead to higher network costs.

* Reliability: Mobile users are dependent on the reliability...