A free service pack update is now available for BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion. The service pack includes enhancements to further help you manage mobile devices in your organization. Updates include BlackBerry® Device Service 6.1, Universal Device Service 6.1, and BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion Studio 6.2.

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is designed to allow you to manage and secure BlackBerry®, iOS, and Android™ smartphones and tablets. The management tool is a unified web-based console called BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Studio. A few of the features include application management, setting user and group policies, and support for BlackBerry® Balance™ technology for BlackBerry devices. BlackBerry Balance technology helps add a layer of security and is designed to allow a user to use a BlackBerry device for both work and personal purposes by helping to keep business information secure and separate from personal information.

New Features Contained in the Service Pack 1 Update

Universal Device Service

• Improved iOS 5 support, including new features for Wi-Fi®, VPN, Microsoft® ActiveSync®, and managed app distribution
• iOS enterprise app distribution via web client
• Simplified error messages and notifications for updates
• Enhancements to iOS device enrollment
• iOS 6 compatibility
• Touchdown email configuration for Android devices (requires update to the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion client from Google Play – available today)

BlackBerry Device Service

• Over The Air (OTA) enrollment directly from a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. Once enrolled, enterprise configurations such as email, Wi-Fi, VPN profiles, and enterprise applications can be wirelessly pushed to the device
• Full device encryption option as a new IT policy (including personal and work areas)
• Developer mode can be disabled on enterprise-connected BlackBerry PlayBook tablets
• Support for Microsoft ActiveSync certificate-based authentication

Note: Updates for BlackBerry Device Service that involve functionality for managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets will become functional after the upcoming release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1

Regional availability of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion has also been expanded to include additional countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. To find out if it’s available in your country, check the list of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion availability.

Stay up to date and get ready for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10! Download Service Pack 1 today.

Does your organization embrace a BYOD policy? What are some of the challenges that come along with it? Share in the comments below.

Hopefully you were able to check out our June webinar series on BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion, with a particular focus on the Universal Device Service component for managing iOS® and Android™ smartphones and tablets. This month, the webinar series is back, and this time we’re diving deep into BlackBerry® Device Service, the next generation device management component of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion for managing BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets and the upcoming BlackBerry® 10 platform.

There are 7 webinars scheduled throughout July; be sure to take a look at the dates below and book time in your calendar to attend. There are duplicates in the list below to help make sure that you can get all of the information that you need even if you have a conflict. The password for each webinar is “Fusion”.

July 10, 2:00pm     Installing BlackBerry Device Service and Mobile Fusion Studio
July 12, 2:00pm     Installing Universal Device Service
July 17, 2:00pm     BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Overview
July 19, 2:00pm     Installing BlackBerry Device Service and Mobile Fusion Studio
July 24, 2:00pm     Installing Universal Device Service
July 26, 2:00pm     BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Overview
July 31, 2:00pm     Installing BlackBerry Device Service and Mobile Fusion Studio

How to access the webinars

To view any of the webinar events listed above, simply click on the title link to head to the event WebEx page, use the password “Fusion” (without the quotes), and you’ll be up and running in no time.

What is BlackBerry Mobile Fusion?

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is a comprehensive Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution that brings security, organization, and convenience to managing smartphones and tablets in your organization. The features and components of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion include:

• Universal Device Service for managing iOS and Android smartphones and tablets
• BlackBerry Device Service for managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets
• Integration with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for managing existing and past BlackBerry smartphones
• BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Studio: a web-based, unified console for managing devices, users, configurations, policies, and more.

Learn more on the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion website. If you’re already using BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, like Martha Stewart Living, head over to our LinkedIn Products & Services page to leave your thoughts!

What feature of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion do you see as most useful to your organization? Share in the comments below.