Adam R. is heading up the BlackBerry® Products and Deployments track at BlackBerry World™ 2012. This track is designed for IT administrators managing BlackBerry solutions in their enterprise who want to get more out of their infrastructure. Adam is a veteran of BlackBerry World and the Manager of Enterprise Product Management at Research In Motion® (RIM®) – his team spearheads the BlackBerry products designed for our enterprise customers. I wanted to get his take on this track and what we can all look forward to. Here’s what he told me about the sessions and why they’re so valuable to our attendees:

Biz Blog: What can attendees look forward to in your track this year?

Adam R.: The strategy behind the BlackBerry Products and Deployments track this year is to really let our customers know about the new software products that are coming down the pipe from RIM. We’re featuring many sessions on BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion because this product is really the evolution of the much-favored BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. Understanding what this product is about really shows where RIM is heading in the future for managing BlackBerry devices along with other devices. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is really part of a larger topic, Mobile Device Management, which is an issue we know many organizations are now struggling with. There is a proliferation of employee-owned devices or a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend in organizations that’s creating challenges for IT teams. The BlackBerry Products and Deployments track will show how BlackBerry is addressing this key challenge.

Biz Blog: Is this a track that will appeal mainly to IT administrators?

Adam R.: I’d say yes and no. IT administrators are the ones struggling with questions like: how do I manage all these devices my employees are bringing to work? How can I not worry about enterprise data leaking? So yes, we have a big focus on what we’re doing to offer the tools that IT administrators need so they can have control while still allowing users to have the device experience they want. There are many sessions such as Mobile Device Management: Reducing the Administrative Challenges that are deep dives into this material.

But I think this track has a broader appeal to anyone who is an IT decision-maker, or even executive level leaders. When we talk about Mobile Device Management, it’s not just about the servers – it’s about the strategy for how to deal with overall mobile issues like voice management. One of the key sessions here is The BlackBerry Office: Replace Laptops and Desk Phones for Your Mobile Workforce. We also have sessions like BlackBerry Web Services: Simplify Your BlackBerry Administration that will appeal to developers looking to interact with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server on a programming level. So it runs the gamut.

Biz Blog: How do you think people should choose which sessions to attend in your track?

Adam R.: If I was to give anyone advice about BlackBerry World, it would be to try to attend as many sessions as you possibly can. It’s a fantastic place to learn about things you already have in your environment and to hear about other services that may be new to you. One of the great advantages of this conference is you get to see what your peers are doing – not just in your industry, but also in other industries. You’re sitting next to people who share your interests, but often from a different perspective. Some of the key sessions in our track focus on new products that make like easier for administrators like BlackBerry® Balance technology, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and the BlackBerry® Device Service:

• Balance Technology: Supporting IT and User Needs
• Support iOS and Android™ Devices with the New BlackBerry Universal Device Service
• Introduction to BlackBerry Mobile Fusion
• The New BlackBerry Device Service: Overview and Features

There are also sessions that are favorites for our attendees, and we’re running them again this year:

• Introduction to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Microsoft® Exchange, Lotus® Domino® and Novell GroupWise®
• BlackBerry Security and Why it Matters to You
• Mobilizing Microsoft Business Apps for BlackBerry

Biz Blog: Why do people tell you they come back to BlackBerry World every year?

Adam R.: People tell me that it’s the quality of the content. There’s not a lot of product marketing or sales going on. The sessions are really focused on helping give people a deep understanding of the product or strategy. Plus, I really like reconnecting with people I’ve met over the years. It’s exciting for me to see how their deployment has progressed and what they’re trying now.

For anyone who registers for BlackBerry World and signs up for the sessions in the BlackBerry Products and Deployments track, our speakers are almost entirely from the product management side of RIM — so they have a sound knowledge of the products. If anyone has unanswered questions, this is the place to be!

To our readers, tell us which administrative challenge you’re facing and what you hope to learn at the conference. Answer in the comments below.

At this year’s BlackBerry World™, there are tracks that cater to virtually every interest. We’ve been featuring Q&As with the track leaders, because no one knows the value of their sessions better than the person who curated the session lineup. I recently talked to John M., Enterprise Mobility Architect at Research In Motion® (RIM®) and the track owner of Mobilizing the Enterprise with Custom Applications. John works with some of the largest enterprise customers to help them build and deploy applications for the BlackBerry® platform. He tells me there are several great sessions to look out for this year.

Biz Blog: If your sessions are about apps, are they only for people who know how to write code?

John M.: Actually, we’ve worked very hard to tell the story of applications without necessarily focusing on code samples. I really want the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server administrator, IT decision maker or business analyst to come and listen to these sessions and get inspired about building apps for the BlackBerry platform. For example, we’re going to talk about Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the session Deploying NFC in the Enterprise, but that doesn’t mean we’re going into all the ways you can invoke an NFC listener and parse the data. Instead we’re going to show all the cool things you can do with NFC and display some practical examples of the technology being used right now in enterprises.

Biz Blog: Are there any sessions that do get more detailed for developers and more technically-focused attendees?

John M.: We have the BlackBerry® 10 Jam that’s focused entirely on the developer community with an emphasis on BlackBerry 10. But I think developers coming to this track looking for more technical insight will enjoy How to Overlay (lots of) Data on a Mobile Map-based Interface. This is a hot topic for people deploying field service apps because it covers how to use mapping like Bing™ maps, Google® maps and BlackBerry® Maps. There’s also Develop Your First (Really Impressive) BlackBerry WebWorks App for anyone starting out with the technology.

Biz Blog: What excites you about developing for BlackBerry right now?

John M .: What’s most exciting about building and deploying apps for BlackBerry is that the platform has been designed with tools and functionality that are baked into the technology. The connection service that BlackBerry offers is that always-on service between the enterprise and the BlackBerry® smartphone or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. It creates a highly connected device that allows people to write unique applications. The BlackBerry platform is also a secure platform that has been independently verified by security researchers.

With BlackBerry® WebWorks™, you can create apps that run across BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry tablets – and future BlackBerry 10 devices – using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript® and this include access to our APIs, just like a native application. It’s that easy. That’s what makes this an exciting time to be building apps for BlackBerry.

Biz Blog: Are there any sessions that are focused on making apps more profitable?

John M.: I’m always looking for ways to show that enterprise apps can go beyond nice-to-have apps to inject value into the revenue stream. So, you might be using field service apps with maps that make your reps more efficient in moving from point A to B so they can see more customers in a day. Or maybe you’re using NFC technology to take mobile payments or take advantage of point of sale opportunities. You might even be creating forms that can be used to take applications for credit cards or insurance policies. Many of our sessions focus on the opportunities for creating revenue or efficiency.

Biz Blog: What really excites you about BlackBerry World?

John M.: Before I was an employee at RIM, I worked for a large financial company, and I came to BlackBerry World every year simply to see the Solutions Showcase. Getting to see all these vendors and what they bring to the table is amazing, whether it’s peripherals or software to help extend the value of your BlackBerry deployment. I would literally use the Solutions Showcase to set my agenda for the year and determine what vendors I would invest more time with at a later date. So registering for BlackBerry World is a must for me – it’s such a great place to learn about so much.

What is your development challenge and what do you hope to learn at BlackBerry World? Let us know in the comments.

The BlackBerry ecosystem encompasses a diverse set of solution providers from the mobile industry. BlackBerry World™ has always featured specialized content for our partners because we want the experts who market BlackBerry products to know as much as possible about the latest products and business opportunities. The BlackBerry Channel Partners track at BlackBerry World 2012 is exactly the place to get that focused and highly valuable information.

I talked to John B., who’s the track leader and Senior Marketing Manager for US Regional Marketing at Research In Motion® (RIM®), to hear what’s being offered this year. His comments should help you plan a diverse agenda for the conference.

BIZ BLOG: What is your goal for channel partners attending BlackBerry World this year?

John B.: We really want to inspire our channel partners to understand how to leverage BlackBerry as a complete ecosystem. Beyond the devices, BlackBerry has a rich platform with built-in tools, features and enviable security. If you’re a channel partner, we want to show you how to leverage our newest offerings for everything from mobile payments to applications and marketing analytics. RIM has specialized knowledge in these areas and we want our channel partners to benefit from our expertise in the sessions.

BIZ BLOG: Channel partners often want to know how they can profit best from BlackBerry – what are you covering along these lines?

John B.: What we have now are tools and resources that help build a complete mobile solution for their customers. If you look at sessions like The New BlackBerry Repair Service for Greater Customer Engagement and Satisfaction, we’re showing how offering customers added value services can help build new revenue streams. We also have sessions that focus on smaller businesses, since this market is a vibrant one for the partners who know how to market to these customers. Niche Doesn’t Have to Mean Small: Finding and Developing New Small Business Opportunities looks at opportunities across various verticals and how to help build a solid value proposition.

BIZ BLOG: Are there any hot topics you want to highlight?

John B.: For the carrier audience, New Revenue Opportunities with BlackBerry Monetized Services is an important session. I think everyone understands how to market handsets, regardless of the device maker. But what isn’t as clear is how a carrier can partner to create a steady stream of revenue-generating services, whether it’s custom billing or purchased services that are billed to the carrier. All those things are taking a quantum leap forward this year at BlackBerry World, so you’ll definitely want to register for these kinds of sessions.

BIZ BLOG: Are there any sessions that are more broadly focused on BlackBerry technology that Channel partners will want to attend?

John B.: One of the big things that anyone marketing BlackBerry is going to want to know about is our focus on Mobile Device Management with BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion, which offers IT managers a way to manage a mix of mobile devices, not just BlackBerry. Few vendors on the handset side have done that. There’s an enormous value in letting enterprise customers know that BlackBerry offers this kind of trusted, secure functionality. I’d recommend attending any of the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion sessions, and specifically Balance Technology: Supporting IT and User Needs, Support iOS and Android™ Devices with the New BlackBerry® Universal Device Service, Introduction to BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and The New BlackBerry Device Service: Overview and Features.

BIZ BLOG: What really excites you about BlackBerry World?

John B.: When our Channel partners come to BlackBerry World, it’s a complete 360-degree view – not just hardware, software or services, and not just infrastructure. It’s all four areas covered in one place, so our partners can see how everything ties together to offer one undisputable value proposition. A lot of this information is not publicly available, so it’s essential to register for BlackBerry World to access it. Also, our product and service managers are onsite at the show so it’s easy to meet with them to ask questions.

But I think my favorite part of the show is the evenings, when you’re interacting with partners and customers, and they’re brainstorming and dreaming about what’s possible with BlackBerry. I really like hearing how people take the information from the show and develop their own vision for using it to build a business.

Have you made business contacts at BlackBerry World before? Let us know in the comments.

The BlackBerry Solutions for Your Organization and Industry track at BlackBerry World™ 2012 is always popular because of its broad appeal. It attracts business leaders, IT architects and senior managers working with BlackBerry in their enterprise or government organization. I talked to Wes M., the track leader and Senior Market Development Manager at Research In Motion® (RIM®) to get his views of the sessions this year.

BIZ BLOG: Since your focus is government customers, are the sessions in this track designed mainly for government audiences?

Wes M.: We always have terrific attendance from people in government at this track, given that many of the sessions are geared toward government interests. But we’ve also found a lot of other enterprise attendees from different industries who want to come and learn at these sessions. In many ways, governments can be thought leaders, and a lot of people want to come and hear what’s taking place. For example, we’re featuring a session called Strengthening Law Enforcement with BlackBerry Solutions that talks about police cars mounted with the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. The takeaway from this session is how tablets can be used in any aspect of public service or field service to mobilize access to important information, easily and cost-effectively.

BIZ BLOG: How did you determine which sessions would be the best to feature this year?

Wes M.: This is my fourth BlackBerry World, so we did two things. First, we looked at the most highly rated sessions from last year, and that gave us a core set of sessions which we then adapted to reflect today’s technology developments. So you’ll see sessions like BlackBerry and Government: Boosting Productivity and Reducing Costs and Best Practices for Enterprise Mobile Social Networking.

Then we focused on key customers that could tell their story so our attendees could learn from a colleague’s experiences. Banking on BlackBerry: How Financial Services Companies and their Customers Benefit looks at the success banks are having reaching out to their customers with mobile banking apps. There’s also a good session on the opportunities in healthcare covered by BlackBerry in Healthcare: Enhancing Communications, Care and Collaboration.

BIZ BLOG: Are there any hot topics you want to highlight?

Wes M.: There are a lot of new opportunities we’ll be featuring, such as using Citrix Receiver™ on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Now you can begin accessing information from your desktop from anywhere you are in the world. This is really relevant for the U.S. Federal government, which is a huge advocate of teleworking. Citrix Receiver is a perfect remote access solution for people that can’t be at the office but need to access their office PC.

BIZ BLOG: Are there any events beyond the sessions that government attendees will want to attend?

Wes M.: Government Day is always really useful. We often have about 200 people registered for this event on Monday, April 30th, 2012. This year we have a worldwide focus, so there will be speakers from Latin America, Asia-Pacific and North America. It’s a unique opportunity to hear about compelling mobile applications using the BlackBerry solution that are being deployed by governments around the world. Customers from several regions will be discussing how their challenges have been solved with BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry tablets. This year, we’ll be hosting a panel that’s really going to get people involved in talking through the issues that affect governments today.

It’s easy to be a part of this event. When you register, indicate you were planning to attend Government Day, and you can add this to your record by logging back into the registration system or by contacting Registration Services at registration@blackberryconferences.net.

Why will you attend the sessions in this track? Let us know in the comments.