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There has been one topic of conversation about technology which has been discussed at all of our BlackBerry® Innovation Forum events so far: consumerization. It is a term that has been talked about for a number of years and has generated debate and intrigue at our EMEA BIF series. However, companies are only just starting to become aware of the benefits and challenges they face with the consumerization of IT.

Advances in smartphones and tablets have changed the expectations of technology within businesses. The demand for access to the latest technology is continuing to grow, and the challenge is to be able to provide solutions that satisfy or balance employee desires with enterprise needs for maintaining IT policies and control. Being a leading provider of enterprise mobility solutions, Research In Motion® (RIM®) understands the challenges. In fact, a 2011 RIM-commissioned report (in conjunction with CIO Connect) states:

“The message coming back from our research is loud and clear, in the words of the CIO of a global IT vendor ‘the boundaries between personal and business computing are blurring fast – employees should be able to make their choices in both areas’. IT in the new consumer age will be all about fashioning the user experience rather than operating the technology.”

So what’s the solution?

BlackBerry® Balance™ technology is designed to allow BlackBerry smartphones to be used for business and personal purposes without compromising the security of company content or the privacy of personal content*. BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to be safe and secure, and that means IT managers can be confident in deploying and supporting employee-owned BlackBerry smartphones. BlackBerry Balance technology is also integral to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0, and supported by BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion (more about BlackBerry Mobile Fusion below). Using BlackBerry Balance technology can:

• Offer greater flexibility to the workforce while retaining control over business data security
• Allow the use of personal apps while restricting copy-and-paste functionality to prevent business information from being inadvertently shared

To learn more about BlackBerry Balance technology, you can watch the video above.

In November 2011, RIM introduced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – the company’s next-generation enterprise mobility solution and RIM’s entry into the multi-platform Mobile Device Management (MDM) marketplace. Building on years of leading enterprise mobility management solutions from RIM, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is designed to simplify the management of BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, as well as upcoming functionality to allow management of Android™ and iOS devices.

You can learn more about BlackBerry Balance technology and how it can benefit your business by joining the conversations on Twitter® via @BBEMEABusiness, using the hashtag #BIF11.

* BlackBerry Balance requires BlackBerry® Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 3, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express 5.0.3 and BlackBerry Device® Software version 6.0 MR2 or higher.

Discussions about how Cloud computing and services can drive impact for cost management and solution delivery played a key part at our recent BlackBerry® Innovation Forum in Amsterdam, and these topics will also be a major focus for our remaining events across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The BlackBerry platform has a heritage in the cloud, operating in it for nearly 12 years with a proven system for security and data protection. (The “Cloud” means different things to different users, but includes options such as web-based applications, such as email, through to data storage and data farms.)

Why cloud computing?

The Cloud is about information management, and companies naturally want to give employees access to information in the easiest and most cost efficient way. Using the Cloud can be one of the best solutions for information management for a number of reasons:

1. For companies who don’t want the hassle of IT issues, they can purchase Cloud computing solutions to help keep IT costs low as the initial cost barrier of entry is generally low.
2. Pricing for Cloud computing can include options to only pay for what you have used. There is a clear understanding of what services you pay for to help forecast operating expenditures.
3. Cloud computing is scalable and flexible. It gives you the ability to adjust your services for season peaks and troughs to give you a totally customizable service that doesn’t require long-term capital commitments. For large Enterprise businesses, this can save costs by way of outsourcing services to the Cloud.

BlackBerry Management Centre is a service that allows businesses to centrally manage their devices and provide email support from all major web browsers, simply and effectively without the need for specialist skills or IT systems support, all for free. BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365 allows organizations to realize the benefits of using Microsoft Office 365, such as Microsoft® Office and Microsoft Exchange email through their BlackBerry smartphones – and all through the Cloud. You can learn more about these innovations and how they can benefit your business by joining the conversations at our BlackBerry Innovation Forum events or via @BBEMEABusiness using the hashtag #BIF11.