General Article
April 17, 2003
Donated server allows speedy e-mail responses via tiny handheld computer
By MATT BRIGGS
If you work on the run, chances are you've tasted a BlackBerry-the wireless, handheld computer that keeps its user plugged in to the latest e-mail and voice messages.
But a BlackBerry's advantages are far more than mobile trendiness. Just ask Larry Feder, vice president of Development, who said the attentiveness afforded by the tiny gizmo recently resulted in two $1 million donations-nearly 10 percent of the annual revenue generated by his department.
Development later procured the donation of a BlackBerry server to the center, allowing Fred Hutchinson staff who use the device to have full access to its capabilities regardless of whether their office computers are on.
The mini-computer-complete with screen, keyboard, speaker and microphone-integrated with Microsoft Outlook e-mail, calendar, address book and task list, as well as a wireless phone, provides an array of communication devices.
It can be set up to access an Exchange e-mail account and, if configured to use the new center BlackBerry server, gives users continual updates to Outlook's calendar with no need to synchronize data.
For researchers and administrators who spend entire days in meetings and juggle a far-flung network of colleagues and contacts, the BlackBerry serves as a single, portable tool to manage these relationships. For researchers in the field, the wide service area supported by commercial vendors also provides access to data and communication in regions far from landlines and Internet connections.
Mobile e-mail
BlackBerry devices work in two ways:
In the first, Outlook users receive e-mail on their desktop computers. Then software called Desktop Redirector encrypts, compresses and sends the e-mail through a provider's wireless network (such as AT&T), where it arrives in the BlackBerry.
The other method uses a dedicated BlackBerry server that communicates with the Exchange e-mail server, in which the user's Outlook e-mail account resides. While only available to Exchange e-mail users with this approach, BlackBerry updates occur regardless of whether the user's personal computer is on or connected to the network. It also provides access to the user's Outlook calendar and data without the need for docking the BlackBerry in a cradle for manual synchronization.
Value of quick response
The story behind the $2 million in donations underscores the value of the speedy response to messages a BlackBerry enables.
One weekend last spring, Pat McCowan, the center's comprehensive campaign director, received an e-mail from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur requesting information about Fred Hutchinson. McCowan responded, via her BlackBerry, within minutes.
The entrepreneur was impressed by McCowan's quick response, allowing her to cultivate a relationship that resulted a few months later in a $1 million contribution to the center. At the next 2002 Hutch Holiday Gala, the same donor gave Fred Hutchinson another $1 million.
Feder appreciates the BlackBerry the way a carpenter takes pleasure in a good hammer.
"Because it's so close to me, it's something I can control," he said. "I can move things around and I'm always connected."
For more information, e-mail helpdesk@fhcrc.org or call 206-667-4344.
[Matt Briggs is a technical account coordinator for Information Technology.]
