Mobile Information Server 2002 Gives Pocket PC 2002 Offline E-Mail

Microsoft has just released Mobile Information Server (MIS) 2002, which adds some new capabilities to its predecessor, MIS 2001.

MIS 2002 Enterprise Edition Adds Offline Capability

MIS Enterprise Edition is a server product that provides secure access to Windows-based applications from wireless devices connected to the Internet. It enables applications to push messages and notifications to mobile users, and enables mobile users to use Web-based applications via various types of microbrowsers, including the Pocket Internet Explorer included on Pocket PCs (PPCs). MIS Enterprise Edition processes all push and browser traffic between mobile devices and applications, enforcing security and shielding the application from many of the details of communicating with a particular device. (See “Enterprise Software Anchors Wireless Plan” on page 12 of the Mar. 2001 Update.)

MIS Enterprise Edition ships with a connectivity add-on for Exchange Server called Outlook Mobile Access (OMA). Just as the similarly named Outlook Web Access front end enables Exchange access from conventional PC browsers, OMA enables access to Exchange—including e-mail, calendar, contacts, and task data—from browsers on mobile devices.