(YouTube link for easy mobile viewing)

One of the BlackBerry® World™ 2011 keynote highlights for me was the demonstration of SAP’s enterprise-ready BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet sales dashboard applications. With the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, SAP is evolving sales dashboards into portable resources with dynamic data and visually rich implementations.

I had the opportunity to chat with Steve Lucas, EVP and GM of SAP Business Objects division, about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and the “big data” opportunity in enterprise mobility today.

What would you like to see in enterprise applications for your sales force? Leave us a comment and join the discussion!

Great news! Today, we announced pre-orders, pricing and in-store availability date of the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet with Best Buy.

The BlackBerry PlayBook will be available in Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Best Buy Canada and Future Shop stores April 19th in the following models and price points:

• 16GB Wi-Fi, $499
• 32GB Wi-Fi, $599
• 64GB Wi-Fi, $699

You can pre-order your BlackBerry PlayBook from Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores in the United States and Best Buy Canada and Future Shop in Canada right now by clicking the links below.

Best Buy BlackBerry PlayBook Pre-Order Page
Best Buy Canada BlackBerry PlayBook Pre-Order Page
Future Shop Canada BlackBerry PlayBook Pre-Order Page

The Inside BlackBerry team has a bunch of content planned to ensure you’re prepared to get the most out of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet from day one! So stay tuned to Inside BlackBerry for more posts, and make sure to visit www.blackberry.com/playbook for the latest information.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Blog »

A recurring theme to the conversations I’ve been having with people in the wireless industry lately is the need for enterprises to better manage the dual personas of the modern employee: their work persona, and their play persona (my personal favorite persona). The software teams here at Research In Motion (RIM) are aware of this need and are working to address it by providing enterprises with the necessary tools via the BlackBerry® platform. I was able to catch up with Santiago Carbonell, a Handheld Software Product Manager at RIM, who is one of the people working on a new feature coming to the BlackBerry platform to do just that. Check out the interview below!

You’re working on a new feature coming to the BlackBerry platform. What’s the story behind this feature and what does it do?

Over the past 10 years, smartphones have been a huge boon to enterprises because they enable employees to take their work with them wherever they go. In the past few years, however, smartphones have started allowing us to take our personal life anywhere, through things like social networking applications and rich multimedia features.

This has led to a trend we’re seeing in the enterprise space right now, and that’s personal-liable devices, or BYODs (“Bring Your Own Device”). People are buying smartphones for that rich personal experience, but then looking to bring that smartphone into the office to take their work with them as well. What we’re working on is building a platform of coexistence between these two lives on one device.

That sounds cool, but what do you mean by coexistence?

Enterprises understandably need to be very protective of their corporate data and communications, and the BlackBerry platform has always allowed that information to be mobilized securely and efficiently through a robust set of IT policies. These policies allow enterprises to control virtually every aspect of the smartphone, down to whether or not personal email addresses or 3rd party applications can be added. This helps to prevent security no-no’s like data leakage, where confidential information sent to the smartphone via a work email is then shared via a personal email address or through some other application.

However, this means that in the interests of corporate security, some BlackBerry smartphone users can’t add their personal email accounts, access Facebook® or download 3rd party applications. RIM recognizes that enterprise employees are also consumers and we want to stay ahead of the curve by allowing those employees to do their jobs, but also take advantage of all the rich consumer-focused features that are a part of the BlackBerry smartphone.

So, for example, the average employee will be able to respond to that urgent email from their boss, but then a minute later be able to check up on their kids over BlackBerry® Messenger or Facebook, because their employer is comfortable with the security measures protecting their sensitive data.

Exactly.

So it’s a win for the company and the user, because they both get what they want.

Yep. =D Enterprises can then allow employees with their own BlackBerry smartphones to bring them into the office at no cost using products like BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express. The employee gets access to all their corporate services (work email, work calendar… etc.) and is still able to enjoy using their BlackBerry smartphone in their personal life because the security concerns are addressed.

Without giving away the secret sauce, how is this going to work? Will the BlackBerry smartphone user notice anything different?

Really what we’re working on is keeping the enterprise data where it belongs. That means sensitive information like emails or important business contacts can stay highly secure and controlled. This is all happening in the background of the platform, so the BlackBerry smartphone user won’t really notice anything different. However, if they try to do something their company would deem unacceptable with that data, the platform is designed to help prevent it from happening and notify the user.

Thanks for this! I’m looking forward to grilling you for more information as it becomes available to put on Inside BlackBerry.

No problem!

BlackBerry® Mobile Voice System 5 (BlackBerry® MVS 5) was one of the many announcements during WES 2010. During the show I had the chance to speak with Andrew from the Voice and Collaboration Platform team about the voice over Wi-Fi® calling capability of BlackBerry MVS 5, use cases and security features. Check out the video above demonstrating Wi-Fi calling and call transferring using BlackBerry MVS 5, then click the link below for my interview with Andrew.

Q: So what are some specific use cases for BlackBerry MVS 5?

A: People are increasingly working from home at least a few days a week, so in this scenario with BlackBerry MVS 5, you wouldn’t have to do any call forwarding, and you wouldn’t have a need for a separate business line at home. You just take your BlackBerry® smartphone with you, connect to your home Wi-Fi and it’s like your office phone comes with you as well.

Being at home and being able to sync my BlackBerry smartphone to my Wi-Fi router and make secure calls through my work extension – just as if as I was at the office – is an absolutely fabulous use case for a growing number of people in their work lives.

Another great use for BlackBerry MVS 5 is on campuses. You could be in a hospital or manufacturing plant, away from desktop phones, but with access to a voice grade Wi-Fi network – now you can make calls over that Wi-Fi network from your BlackBerry smartphone using your enterprise/work number versus your mobile number.

BlackBerry MVS 5 is a great way to optimize the use of your cellular voice plan, address coverage issues and maintain privacy of your cell phone number when working away from the office.

Q: What does the end-user need to do to be able to use BlackBerry MVS 5?

A: If your organization already has BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry MVS 5, then you just need to contact your IT group to get your BlackBerry account added to BlackBerry MVS 5. Your IT administrator can then push the software update and the VPN credentials to your BlackBerry smartphone – no user interaction required! After that you can simply connect to an available Wi-Fi network and choose to make calls from your work line, over Wi-Fi, from your BlackBerry smartphone. You’ll love how easy it is, and IT will rest easy knowing that your mobile work calls are routed through the corporate PBX and have the ability to help maintain corporate compliance regulations.

Q: Then, as a user, you just have to make sure that you connect to an available Wi-Fi network from your BlackBerry smartphone, and everything is taken care of for you?

A: Correct. Once your Wi-Fi is turned on and you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, the administrator will have set it all up for you – you just have to start making calls.

Q: Anything else users need to know about BlackBerry MVS 5?

A: Your company needs to be running a supported IP PBX for BlackBerry MVS 5 (Cisco or Mitel to start, with other vendors to follow). Note that our BlackBerry MVS 4.6 version is available to customers with other vendors or legacy (TDM) PBXs and provides similar functionality over carrier mobile networks but does not support Wi-Fi calling.

If you’re looking for more info, be sure to check out the BlackBerry MVS 5 announcement and the BlackBerry MVS 5 product page on BlackBerry.com.

More and more employers are making it possible for employees to connect their personal smartphones to their corporate email, because it’s good for business and is also considered a benefit to employees that want to manage their work and life on BlackBerry. Research In Motion (RIM) is running a series of learning sessions in cities across North America designed to help IT managers embrace the reality of personal-liable smartphones in the enterprise space.

Analyst Maribel Lopez will walk attendees through the risks and rewards of bringing employee’s personal smartphones into the business world and share tactics for management success. Attendees will be able to share best practices with fellow leaders and ask questions of RIM and other industry experts. There will also be a demonstration of the recently released BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express software for all who attend!

Please see the list below to find the event registration page that’s right for you.

Toronto, ON – March 25th, 2010
Chicago, IL – March 30th, 2010
Dallas, TX – March 31st, 2010
San Jose, CA – April 1st, 2010

These learning sessions are free, but participation is limited, so please register now. All attendees will receive the Smart Policies for Personal-Liable Smartphone white paper and be entered into a draw for a free BlackBerry Starter Pack.

We hope you can join us!

BONUS: Read the most recent BlackBerry Connection Newsletter for more information on connecting personal employee smartphones.

When we announced BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express at Mobile World Congress 2010 we received lots of interest from you in finding out more about it. Now that BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is officially available we wanted to answer some of your questions. So with the help of my more technically savvy coworkers, I’ve compiled a list of FAQs about BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express.

Q: So what does BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express mean for me (aka: the BlackBerry smartphone user)?

A: It means you can have what you want: access to your work email, calendar, contacts and more from your personal BlackBerry smartphone – and your IT department also gets what they want: a BlackBerry wireless sync solution that is highly secure and manageable.

Plus, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software is available at a great price (no charge!). And since you’re already paying for your internet-enabled BlackBerry service plan from your wireless service provider, there are no additional software licensing costs for your organization to provide you with access to your work email from your BlackBerry smartphone.

Q: Am I going to have to pay an extra fee per month to use this?

A: BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is free to all businesses – there is no software licensing cost and no client access license fees. For you, the end user, the only cost is the internet-enabled BlackBerry service plan from your wireless service provider. (This means if you can browse the Internet from your BlackBerry smartphone today you are already on a service plan that can be used with BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express).

Q: Which applications are supported by BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express?

A: It’s actually easier to tell you what applications BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express doesn’t support =D. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express does not support certain premium solutions supported by the full version of BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. These are things like Enterprise Instant Messaging Clients, Enterprise Social Networking Solutions, Chalk® Pushcast Software, and BlackBerry® Mobile Voice System. Outside of that, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express users will be able to enjoy the thousands of applications available on BlackBerry App World™ and will also be able to tap into behind the firewall applications when assisted by their IT departments (e.g. CRM applications).

Q: What do I need to have/do to use BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express?

A: It’s fairly simple to get started with BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express – here is what you and your company needs:

End-user Requirements:

• A BlackBerry smartphone
• Subscription to an internet-enabled BlackBerry service plan from your wireless service provider

Company Requirements:

• Microsoft® Exchange 2010, 2007, 2003 OR Windows® Small Business Server 2008, 2003
• Download and install the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software (at no charge!) on your existing Microsoft Exchange or Windows Small Business Server
• Those looking for more info can read the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express full system requirements (.PDF)

Your IT admin will then simply need to add you and your BlackBerry smartphone into the system and you will be ready and set to go.

Q: What are the end-user features that are available with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express?

A: Below is a list of a few key BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express features. Please note some of these features require BlackBerry® Device Software version 5.0.

Advanced business email features

• Highly secure push-based HTML corporate email – connected to your work email account
• Synced inboxes (i.e., email deleted from work Outlook account are also deleted from your BlackBerry smartphone – no need to manage 2 inboxes)
• Ability to flag emails for follow-up from your BlackBerry smartphone
• Search your desktop inbox for messages from your BlackBerry smartphone
• Set up out of office replies from your BlackBerry smartphone
• Access and update important notes and tasks
• Edit Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel® and Microsoft® PowerPoint® files on your BlackBerry smartphone using Documents To Go®

A calendar that’s always up-to-date

• Access to an up-to-date calendar that is synched wirelessly (No need to tether to your desktop!)
• See coworkers’ free/busy status (this should make setting up meetings easy)
• View, download and forward calendar attachments

Advanced contact features

• Wireless address lookup (changes to your corporate address book are reflected almost immediately on your BlackBerry smartphone)
• Synchronization between your desktop address book and your BlackBerry smartphone address book (that means when you add a contact to one, it is automatically updated in the other)

Behind the firewall access

• Access to your corporate intranet
• Remote file access – access your corporate documents and network drives from your BlackBerry smartphone

To learn more, visit: www.blackberry.com/besexpress

We’re excited to introduce BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express today, a new server software offering that enables businesses of any size to quickly and easily get started with the BlackBerry solution. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express works with Microsoft email servers, including Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 and 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2010, 2007 and 2003, to provide users with secure, push-based, wireless access to email, calendar, contacts, notes, tasks, and more.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is also free: the software requires no additional user license fees, and works with any Internet-enabled or enterprise data plan.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express benefits both the BlackBerry smartphone end user and IT administrators. Click the links below to learn more about the end user, IT management and security features of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express end user features
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express IT management and support features
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express security features

Don’t forget to also register for BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express availability updates. In the coming weeks, the Inside BlackBerry blog team will be talking more about BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server in general (a topic that might be quite new to many of our readers), so stay tuned!

I’m excited to tell you about a new BlackBerry® smartphone accessory that gives mobile professionals and management teams the tool they need to deliver presentations successfully! BlackBerry® Presenter enables users to wirelessly present Microsoft® PowerPoint® files directly from their BlackBerry smartphones.

BlackBerry Presenter helps simplify the presentation experience by allowing professionals to lighten their travel load and leave their laptops back at the office. To learn more about BlackBerry Presenter, visit: www.blackberry.com/presenter. You can also view the system requirements and a few images by clicking the jump link below. Stay tuned for more information on the BlackBerry Presenter this week live from CES!

BlackBerry Presenter System Requirements

1. To use BlackBerry® Presenter, you will need a video output device and a VGA cable or an S-Video cable.
2. BlackBerry Presenter is not supported by the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300 Series and/or BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8200 Series smartphones.
3. Upgrading BlackBerry® Presenter firmware requires (a) an Intel® compatible computer with an available USB port that is compliant with USB 1.1 or higher and that is running the Microsoft Windows XP® or later operating system and (b) BlackBerry® Device Software v4.6 or later.