Research In Motion (RIM) announced several new products that will strengthen the company’s smartphone, the Blackberry, position in the small to medium industry and enterprise around the world, and especially Malaysia. They have made available BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for IBM Lotus Domino, MDaemon Messaging Server BlackBerry Edition and, in conjunction with Microsoft, have entered into an agreement to make a new RIM-hosted BlackBerry-enterprise service available for Microsoft Office 365.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for IBM Lotus Domino is free server software that wirelessly synchronizes email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks between BlackBerry smartphones and IBM Lotus Domino without compromising security. The software is available today at www.blackberry.com/besexpress.
“BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is a free download that is designed for businesses of all sizes. It provides an easy way for businesses to get started using BlackBerry smartphones with IBM Lotus Domino and it’s also an ideal no-cost software solution for businesses that want to allow their employees to connect their personal BlackBerry smartphones to their work email,” says Jeff McDowell, Senior Vice President, Enterprise and Platform Marketing at Research in Motion.
Meanwhile MDaemon Messaging Server BlackBerry Edition is an alternative to Microsoft Exchange or Windows Small Business Server where its ability to deliver simplicity and affordability without sacrificing “enterprise class” features is what has made MDaemon successful with its target – the small-to-medium (SMB) business customers. Now with MDaemon installed in-house, customers will now have access to important functions – email, collaboration, and BlackBerry smartphone support built into a single software server. What that means for the customer is one download, one installation wizard, and one user interface to manage email and BlackBerry smartphone mobility needs. In addition, MDaemon supports other mobile devices. This is a very attractive platform for a segment that is driven by IT resource and budget constraints.
The agreement with Microsoft meanwhile will have the new RIM-hosted service offer a feature set that is similar to BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, and will initially be available for Exchange Online for Office 365 on a subscription basis starting at RM0 per user per month (plus a BlackBerry service plan). The service is expected to be available in closed beta in mid-2011.
This is an extension of the trusted BlackBerry solution – hosted, licensed and supported by RIM. In addition to BlackBerry wireless sync with Exchange Online and smartphone management and controls, administrators will be able to use BlackBerry Balance technology to keep corporate data separate from personal data on BlackBerry devices; group users for easy management; create and manage more device policies; change device passwords and settings; and locate and manage multiple BlackBerry users at once with extensive search criteria. Customers will continue to have a holistic BlackBerry experience with single sign-on for administrators and seamless sign-up. Looking forward, the RIM-hosted BlackBerry enterprise service for Office 365 will replace the existing Microsoft-hosted BlackBerry enterprise service that is available today for BPOS – Standard.
These new services will be rolled out incrementally within the next few months, so customers should look out for their deployment for their businesses.
By Sharil Abdul Rahman
