cybermage

Well we implemented a Microsoft Mobile Information Server today.

It was a booger to get working.

First we had to run the setup several times. Each time it would tell us we hadn't completed a step and to run setup with this switch or that switch to do it, then run setup again.

Next, you MUST use SSL. This means you need a certificate for the server. If you generate the certificate yourself (rather than pay to use one of the main root cert servers that PIE already recognizes) you need to install a package on your Axim that comes with MMIS that allows it to ignore "invalid" certs.

Then we had to tweak some security settings to allow the MMIS server to talk to our Exchange 2000 server (note: they can't be running on the same machine.)

Finally we had to put every user's account (who needed access to MMIS) into the MIS Mobile Users group.

Finally, we had to punch a hole for SSL through our firewall to forward to the MMIS server.

Net result? I can sync my contacts, e-mail and calendar while standing in CompUSA, across town from the office. Or from home, or from any number of hotspots around town. And it sync's FAST!

Pretty darned cool!

For a case study let me explain:

We provide computer support services on contract basis to companies all over town. When we service an account we do up a service ticket on our custom app that shows symptom, resolution, parts used (and prices for them) and time to deduct from their contract.

The customer signs on the PDA. When we transmit this data over the web to our .NET server, it will generate an HTML e-mail that looks just like a typical printed service ticket, complete with our company logo and the customer's signature.

The data is added to our SQL server for later reference on our Intranet. It also notifies our accounting department of what to charge the customer.

So, we now have a truly wireless and paperless office! It's the holy grail of computing...

Okay, it's not THAT perfect, but it still has a high coolness factor.

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*Mage