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Get Mobile Access to Your Outlook DataIf you rely on Outlook to manage your life, you soon run into the problem of how to get mobile access to your Outlook data. Unless the only time you need access to your email or calendar or task lists is when you are sitting in front of your main computer, you'll eventually want to get access to this stuff from somewhere else. You might want to see your personal schedule from your work computer, or check your task list while waiting for a meeting to start, or just check your email while you are out of town. Whatever your personal situation, I think most regular Outlook users eventually wonder how to get mobile access to their data. Chapter 15 of How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 looks at this problem in general and shows some solutions for Outlook 2007 users. This part of the site covers the subject in more depth than I had room for in the book, looking at solutions for Outlook 2003 and 2007, including links to reviews and information about the latest solutions. If you need to get mobile access to your Outlook data, this is the place to start. Types of Mobile AccessWhen we talk about ways to get mobile access to your Outlook data, we're not talking about just ways to get to your data using your phone or PDA. We're talking about getting access to your Outlook data from somewhere other than your main computer, from wherever you are, using whatever tools are available. We can break this down into a few broad categories that correspond to the main kinds of mobile access you could need:
As you'll see, each category has its own set of problems, opportunities, and solutions. The ultimate "go mobile" dream of complete and seamless access to any of my data, from anywhere, on any device, isn't here yet. But there are lots of good solutions for specific categories out there, and that's what we'll be exploring here. Note: The subject of synchronization comes up a lot when you talk about getting mobile. For a short primer on this subject, click here Direct Access to Your DataOne way to get mobile access to your Outlook data is to somehow connect directly to the computer that you run Outlook on. You can get products that run on your PC and give you remote access to the data stored in Outlook's .PST files.Check out: Synchronize Between Two PCsThis section covers solutions that allow you to synchronize your Outlook data between two computers. They result in having the same information on (for example) your work computer and home computer.Synchronize Between a PC and a Handheld DeviceA popular way to get mobile access to your Outlook data is to carry a copy of it in your pocket, and occasionally synchronize the copy in your pocket with the copy on your PC. This category covers topics like synchronizing data between a PC and a PDA such as a Palm OS or Pocket PC handheld, as well as solutions that let you carry a copy of your data to another PC and work on it there.Check out: Synchronize WirelesslyThis section covers solutions that let you synchronize your data over wide-area communication systems such as the mobile phone networks. While these solutions are similar to those for synchronizing between an PC and a handheld device, the fact that they use the mobile phone or pager networks to communicate makes using them significantly different.Use a Hosted MailboxIf you are really mobile, maybe keeping your Outlook data on a PC isn't the best way to go at all. Maybe you would be better off using a hosted Exchange mailbox. This is a mailbox on a Microsoft Exchange server that you can connect to through the Internet. If you are using Outlook at work, you probably are using an Exchange mailbox that is run by your company and holds your work-related data. A hosted mailbox is the same kind of thing, but it is run by a company that rents out mailboxes for anyone to use.For more information, go to the Exchange Hosting page. Connect Multiple Computers and HandheldsWe've seen lots of ways to mobilize your Outlook data between PCs or between PCs and mobile devices. And they work just fine if you are synchronizing between two things. But if you are synchronizing between multiple PCs and handhelds, things get more complicated. This section covers the issues, shows some possible solutions, and helps you get ready to design a solution that supports the way you need to get mobile.From here you can:
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