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GroupWise Mobile Client for PDAs
and Smart Phones

By Aldo Zanoni, CEO, Managing Director, Omni Technology Solutions Inc.
October 31, 2006

1. What Makes Omni Mobile Unique?
2. Omni Mobile for GroupWise
3. More than Just PIM Synchronization - NO Windows Server Required!
4. Additional Omni Mobile Features
5. Consolidation of GroupWise Synchronization Software Offerings
6. Which GroupWise PDA Solution is Right for You?
7. Supported Platforms
8. Omni Mobile Screenshots

What Makes Omni Mobile Unique?

Omni Mobile's unique feature set is due to the fact that it is a GroupWise caching client for mobile devices. It does not synchronise emails to the native PIM applications on the mobile device and therefore does not require a separate server and database to store and synchronise the emails.

The Omni Mobile server module installs directly on your GroupWise WebAccess Server and communicates directly with the Omni Mobile client. Omni Mobile uses the GroupWise WebAccess APIs to communicate with GroupWise. This means that any operation that can be carried out in WebAccess can be built into the Omni Mobile client interface. Future GroupWise client features include online access to full account searches, on-line proxy access, on-line multi-user calendar busy searches, on-line access to the GroupWise Document Management Store and others.

Omni Mobile for GroupWise

Omni Mobile delivers a GroupWise caching client for mobile devices including:

1. GroupWise Palm Treo 700w, 650, 600 and Tungsten PDAs
2. GroupWise Pocket PC and Windows Mobile PDAs and Smartphones
3. GroupWise Sony Ericsson P910, P900 and P800
4. Nokia Series 60 2nd Generation Phones
5. *Nokia Series 60 3rd Generation Phones
6. **BlackBerry phones.

* Version 2.3, Q4, 2006
**Version 2.5, Q2, 2007

More than Just PIM Synchronization - NO Windows Server Required!

You might be considering several wireless GroupWise email options - Omni Mobile, GroupWise Mobile Server, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), GWAnywhere, NotifyLink or Toffa. Omni Mobile is the only GroupWise mobile software that does not require additional Windows Servers, databases or other complexities be added to your network.

As long as you have the Omni Mobile server module installed on your GroupWise WebAccess server, there are no other infrastructure changes required to support Omni Mobile - no Windows servers to install and manage, no firewall ports need to be opened; no SOAP protocols to configure; no Trusted Application required; no POP3, IMAP4 or other protocol security challenges or limitations.


Diagram 1:  Leverage Your Existing GroupWise Investment

Omni Mobile's Key Features Include:

1. No Windows Server required
2. Omni Mobile Server Module installs on your existing GroupWise WebAccess server (NetWare, SLES, OES, Windows)
3. Delivers mobile GroupWise caching client for Palm, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile and Sony Ericsson PDAs
4. Read HTML emails on your handheld (Omni Mobile uses the GroupWise WebAccess HTML rendering agent to present those in a browser on the mobile device).
5. Read forwarded emails that contain other emails (including attachments)
6. Access to shared folders on your mobile device
7. Access to "large" address books including System Address Book on supported devices
8. Only multi-platform mobile solution to use WebAccess as the conduit to GroupWise
9. Does not use the local device PIM applications.  These can be used for personal information therefore keeping GroupWise information separate from your personal information. 
10. Uses a familiar GroupWise user interface (quick user adoption, reduced training costs)
11. Allows you to choose the default view when you start Omni Mobile (Main View, Folder, Calendar, Address Book)
12. Dial directly from the GroupWise address book (on supported devices)
13. Provides the quickest user and administrator adoption because Omni Mobile is easy to install, easy to administer and easy to use
14. Provides access to full GroupWise account including email, multiple and shared GroupWise folders, calendar, appointments, tasks, notes.
15. Supports system, personal and shared GroupWise address books -- including Organization information.
16. Compatible with GroupWise 7.x and 6.x
17. Compatible with all service providers and major wireless protocols
18. Provides three attachment management strategies:  Internal Omni Mobile client download to device, on-line view with GroupWise WebAccess Viewer, download to device with device native attachment download 
19. Supports over 200 different attachment types
20. Over-the-air client deployment on supported devices
21. Over-the-air and/or workstation-based account creation and initialisation
22. * Online access to full account searches
23. * Access to GroupWise Query folders
24. * On-line access to the GroupWise Document Management Store
25. ** On-line proxy access
26. ** On-line multi-user calendar busy searches  
              * Omni Mobile 2.4 
            ** Omni Mobile 3.0 path

Consolidation of GroupWise Synchronization Software

Since the arrival of the Novell GroupWise Mobile Server, we have seen a decrease in offerings of PIM-based GroupWise PDA synchronization solutions. Novell's GroupWise Mobile Server synchronization software provides similar functionality and architecture to NotifyLink, GWAnywhere and other GroupWise PDA synchronization solutions. Because Omni Mobile provides a separate GroupWise client rather than PIM synchronisation, it offers a number of advantages over a PIM synchronisation solution. 

Many customers ask us why they should choose Omni Mobile instead of the free GroupWise Mobile Server.  It is not necessarily a question of whether to implement one or the other. Both solutions offer advantages and co-exist quite nicely. A number of GroupWise customers who have implemented the new GroupWise Mobile Server for general users have deployed Omni Mobile where the users' enhanced GroupWise needs are best met by Omni Mobile.     

Which GroupWise PDA Solution is Right for You?

Consider the following questions as you evaluate the various GroupWise mobile PDA products:

1. What is the Total Cost of Ownership of each mobile GroupWise PDA solution?
2. What are the advantages of having a separate GroupWise client on your mobile devices versus synchronising GroupWise to the native PIM applications?
3. Do the other solutions provide access to shared folders, shared address books, GroupWise Query folders and other GroupWise specific features?
4. What are the complexities of installing, configuring, managing and patching one or more Windows servers to your environment to run GroupWise Mobile Server, NotifyLink, BES or GWAnywhere, when Omni Mobile installs on your existing GroupWise system?
5. Waht solution allows you to best leverage your existing GroupWise 6.x or 7.x investments?
6. Why not adopt ONE solution that provides cross-platform PDA support to all platforms - without any Windows servers?
7. Is there any value in choosing a hosted GroupWise mobile service if you can leverage your existing GroupWise investment?
8. Are you deploying GroupWise on SUSE Linux servers? Why deploy a solution that requires you to introduce a Windows server into your environment when Omni Mobile is fully compatible with GroupWise running on Linux?
9. Read this review to determine which is the Best PDA for Omni Mobile for GroupWise

Supported Platforms

1. Palm OS
2. Sony Ericsson UIQ
3. Pocket PC / Windows Mobile OS
4. Nokia Series 60
5. BlackBerry (Q2 2007)

Note:  AppForge Crossfire enables Omni to maintain a single codebase and deliver a full-featured client for Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Nokia and BlackBerry PDAs and PDA Smartphones.

Omni Mobile Client Interface

Click here to view the Omni Mobile GroupWise client interface

More Information

Omni Mobile Overview
Which is the Best PDA for GroupWise »
Register for an Omni Mobile Web Seminar »
View Omni Mobile Screenshots »
Other GroupWise Email Tools »
Download 30 Trial of Omni Mobile »

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