Mobile Devices Need Updates, TooMobile Devices Need Updates, Too

Business technology managers shouldn't overlook employees' mobile devices when planning the early move to daylight-saving time. They're just as apt to have problems as the rest of the IT infrastructure.

Smartphones, in particular, contain time-sensitive information in calendars, e-mail, and business applications and must get all vendor updates and patches related to daylight-saving time. Mobile operating system vendors and smartphone makers have either issued or are in the process of issuing these updates.

Scheduling problems could arise if a smartphone's clock doesn't get updated and the rest of the company's systems do, says Devin Anderson, security business line manager at LANDesk Software, a security and process management provider. "Imagine one of your executives missing his flight to Europe or being an hour late to an important business meeting," he says.

For that reason, Capital One is including BlackBerry smartphones and cell phones in its daylight-saving time work. BlackBerrys are being updated with Research In Motion's patch and will automatically reset, says Robert Turner, senior VP of IT at the financial services provider. For smartphones that don't communicate with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server directly, Capital One will send an e-mail with a link to update them, he says. Cell phones will be handled as updates are available.

Among vendors issuing patches, Microsoft has released an update for smartphones that run its Windows Mobile operating system to prevent clocks and Microsoft Outlook calendar appointments from displaying incorrect times between March 11 and April 1 (the date daylight-saving time would have started if Congress hadn't moved it earlier), and between Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 (the date standard time would have resumed). Smartphone clocks won't automatically update when the switchover happens unless users install these updates.

Microsoft has set up a Web site to address additional consumer and business questions at support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst. The site provides articles and downloads for the products that customers specify.

Clocks in unpatched RIM BlackBerrys also won't automatically update, and calendar features will be affected, too, the company says. The patches for BlackBerry and third-party software can be downloaded from at www.blackberry.com/DST2007/patch/index2.shtml.

Palm, which makes Treo smartphones that use both the Palm OS and the Windows Mobile operating systems, has an update posted on its Web site, too, at www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/dst.html.

The daylight-saving time issue underscores the need for companies to have patch management processes for all business applications that synchronize data with their smartphones, as well as the operating systems of the host machines.

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Early Daylight-Saving Time Puts Apps At Risk