On the heels of our recent announcement of FIPS 140-2 certification for the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform, our current in-market favorite BlackBerry 7.1 OS has received CESG approval for government use in the United Kingdom. This is a significant step forward for enabling government mobility in the region by allowing access to data classified up to and including “Restricted”.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Solution from RIM remains the only holistic mobile solution approved by CESG. Governments around the world have long been our partners, utilizing secure BlackBerry solutions to access sensitive data and to enable public service workers. Law enforcement, government agencies, and medical industries are just a few areas in which this takes place. In the UK specifically, the NHS, local government bodies, and the Ministry of Defense all employ BlackBerry solutions to efficient, secure, and productive ends.

A great example can be found with UK police forces. By extending core processes and systems as well as access to information databases, officers are able to spend more time in the communities in which they work rather than being tied up with paperwork back at the office. The use of mobile social media in similar settings also enables government industries to use BlackBerry technology to connect more closely with their citizens.

Learn more about BlackBerry security today, and our stance on security when it comes to the upcoming BlackBerry 10 mobile computing platform. Does your work rely on secure BlackBerry solutions? Share in the comments below.

Hi, I’m Dan Sloshberg, Regional Manager for Small Medium Business Marketing in Europe, Middle East and Africa. I work on helping to promote our BlackBerry® solutions for those who are looking to start or grow their business.

Following on from our last post on mobile social networking for SMBs, we’ve put together this great new video, showcasing some examples of how smart small business can use mobile social networking to connect and engage with their customers and find and attract new customers.

Starting or growing a business can be tough and a lot of hard work. Engaging on social networks from your smartphone or tablet is a powerful and efficient form of communicating and connecting with customers and prospects. If done right, not only can it be highly effective but is also a very low cost marketing strategy. See how you can use some simple social tactics to attract and keep more customers wherever your day takes you – and all from your BlackBerry smartphone.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Does your business use social networking to engage with customers? Share your tips and advice for using social networking on a smartphone or tablet in the comments below.

Hey everyone, it’s Milena from the BlackBerry® Customer Success Program at Research In Motion® (RIM®). Every day our team gets to talk to many of our customers doing business in new and better ways with the help of BlackBerry solutions. We wanted you to be able to easily access these great stories, and so we’re excited to share our recently re-launched North American Customer Success website. To check out success stories and case studies from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, head over to the EMEA customer success website.

Some cool features of the updated site include:

• New carousel of case studies which includes improved search functionality – you’re now able to narrow your search by region, industry, language, business size, and more
• Featured videos and stories – scroll through our most recent success stories in written and video format
• Access our entire library of written and video case studies from A-Z or browse by Industry

Our library of success stories continues to grow every day. Be sure to check back often to access new or existing case studies to inspire you. So now I turn it to you: Have you come across a BlackBerry customer success story that you’d like to see showcased on our site? Share them with us at success@rim.com.

Why is social media important for SMBs?

Having a mobile phone is no longer just for making calls. Smartphones have brought about the ability to connect to the Internet from pretty much anywhere on the planet. This improved connectivity has driven a significant increase in social media use. An InSites Consulting study revealed that 56% of connected smartphone users log on to social networks daily and that 49% of Europeans follow a brand on social media. With more people online and engaging in social networks than ever before, this provides a great opportunity for businesses. With the ‘work anywhere’, flexible nature of small and growing businesses, a smartphone gives them a perfect opportunity to tap into and contribute to the conversations taking place online – and to engage as a means of raising awareness of their brand and developing potential new business opportunities.

Mobile social networking allows for instant engagement from anywhere as Erik Vermeulen, Keynote Speaker at the BlackBerry® Innovation Forum 2011 in South Africa, stated:

“7/10 SMBs already believe that Social Media is allowing them to get closer to their customers.”

Additionally, a 2011 Loudhouse study for Research In Motion® (RIM®) on European SMBs showed that growth and expansion remain priorities even in challenging times, with 69% of those surveyed looking to win new customers and partners. Nearly half of those surveyed also believed that a mobile phone was the most important sales tool an SMB had.

So what do these survey results mean for small and growing businesses?

Simply put, for SMBs to effectively position themselves in the wider market, they need to use mobile social networking to engage with customers and potential prospects at anytime, anywhere. Rather than being tied to a PC in an office, using a device like a BlackBerry smartphone allows an employee to stay mobile but remain connected to people and opportunities.

For businesses, engagement on social media is more than posting links to your website or blog. Effective engagement is about building a conversation with others, sharing insights and knowledge, and responding to questions someone might ask. People are increasingly using social media to discuss their experiences with brands, and so you might get vital feedback on your business or useful insights on the competition by ‘listening’ to these social conversations. You might even become aware of an issue or problem with your product or service, for example, so you can then put in place measures to avoid a potential crisis.

With so many different social networks and different streams of conversations happening all the time, how can you possibly keep track? Simple – the Social Feeds app on a BlackBerry smartphone conveniently brings content across various networks such as Twitter®, Facebook®, RSS feeds, and podcasts into one place. The Social Feeds app allows you to quickly see what’s going on without having to open several different apps on your BlackBerry smartphone. You can even perform Facebook or Twitter actions directly from the app.

Engagement is a key to SMB social media success, and we will be providing information on more handy tools, hints and tips over the coming weeks as the series continues.

Does your business use social networks to engage with customers? Which ones have been the most successful for you? Share your stories in the comments below.

We’re welcoming questions for Rory from our communities – what would you like to ask him? Simply submit your questions via Twitter using the chat hashtag #BBRoryChat and Rory will answer as many as he can next Monday.

Be sure to join us for a really exciting discussion – we’re looking forward to it! If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat before or you need a refresher, here are some useful hints and tips to get you started:

What is a Twitter chat?

A Twitter chat is an online conversation that takes place among a group of people on Twitter about a specific topic of interest. A hashtag, created by adding the # symbol to the beginning of any word, is used to keep track of the conversation. In this case, we’ll be using this hashtag to track the discussion: #BBRoryChat. You’ll need a Twitter account to participate. If you don’t have one, you can sign up at Twitter.com.

How do I participate?

We’ll be asking a list of questions from our @BBEMEABusiness Twitter handle. Rory (@roryponeill) will be answering questions from you! If you have a question for Rory, an opinion, a story, or advice during the Chat, we want to hear from you! Twitter chats can become a great source of knowledge when people like you share their experiences.

Choosing the Right Tool to Track the Chat

To help you follow the conversation, we recommend using TweetChat, and we will be setting up a page to track the Chat. From this site, you will see the real time conversation of all tweets with #BBRoryChat. If you are logged in with your personal Twitter account, you will also be able to post all of your tweets directly from the site. Another way to track the chat is by searching #BBRoryChat in the search bar at the top of the Twitter homepage.

Best Practices

• Make sure to follow the host @BBEMEABusiness since we’ll be asking most of the questions that you don’t want to miss!
• Make sure you use the hashtag #BBRoryChat in all of your tweets. That is how others will know that you are participating in the chat, and it will also allow your tweets to be aggregated into the chat stream.
• Remember that tweets are only 140 characters. If it seems a little difficult at first, don’t worry – all participants are condensing their thoughts too.
• Differing opinions are always okay, but express your feelings in a courteous manner, please.
• Retweet great comments and engage with other participants.
• If you still have more information to share or questions to ask, you can always carry on the discussion on our BlackBerry for Business LinkedIn® group.

Please stay in touch! We’re always here to help, so feel free to ask us questions or share resources leading up to this exciting event.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

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.

At the BlackBerry Innovation Forum in Dubai, Neetan Chopra, VP of IT Strategy and Architecture for The Emirates Group, shared one such success story. Watch it here:

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

The Emirates® brand is all about connecting people around the globe through its airline network. To Neetan, it is important for the organization to also connect their employees as they do their customers. Being able to digest, share and filter information on the move – especially for the corporate C-suite – has helped The Emirates Group improve productivity and connect people.

You can learn more about the various BlackBerry Innovation Forums and how topics discussed at the events can benefit your business by joining the conversations on Twitter® via @BBEMEABusiness, or by using the hashtag #BIF11.

Damian Collins, MP – who backed the recent StartUp Hub UK campaign – believes there are opportunities for SMBs in the current economic climate:

“It’s a tough economy, but that’s often when the best new start-ups are launched. SMBs can be agile enough to respond to the changes in the market. Start-ups are often closer to their customers and work all hours to make their businesses succeed. They can also be more innovative and embracing of new technology that can give them the cutting edge. But you need to get the business idea right first and you should keep challenging yourself until you know you have.

“Smartphones and apps have created new ways of connecting businesses with their customers. The distinction between commerce conducted on the go, rather than from a fixed computer in the home of office is already disappearing, this trend will only grow.”

Dan, our Marketing Manager at Research In Motion® (RIM®) for SMB in Europe, Middle East and Africa, has put together some top tips to help small businesses start and grow more effectively:

• Get a step ahead of the competition by responding rapidly and effectively to customer’s queries and questions. By having tools like email, Twitter®, Facebook® or BlackBerry® Messenger™ (BBM™) with you wherever you go, you can be in the office even though you are technically out of it!
• The BlackBerry platform allows you to be agile. You can respond to clients and customers at any time whilst also co-ordinating with your business teams around the world. BBM is the perfect tool for communicating with both customers and employees. Share a message, picture, or document instantly, and see when it’s been delivered and read.
• For peace of mind, you can protect and manage company and employee-owned devices using BlackBerry Management Center. This web-based cloud service allows you to lock and wipe devices plus set up and manage email accounts and new devices, so your staff is free to focus on the job at hand. Plus, it’s free!

RIM has a history of working with SMBs and we have some wonderful case studies from all sorts of businesses. See how BlackBerry has made a difference to SMBs in our Case Study database.

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology has been a key topic of conversation at our BlackBerry® Innovation Forum events in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Business leaders have been learning about and discussing how NFC is being rapidly adopted by organizations in sectors such as transport, banking, payment, entertainment, hospitality, and retail. Companies worldwide are looking to take advantage of the benefits of this exciting new technology. The applications and future possibilities of NFC are vast, including:

• Ticketing: Gaining access to gigs and shows
• Travel and transport: bus, train, metro and airline access
• Payments: Using NFC to pay for items in shops instead of using a traditional credit or debit card, as a replacement for small cash payments at vending machines and convenience stores, and for peer-to-peer payments between individuals
• Access: Using NFC for physical access to secure premises instead of having a fob or separate security access keycard
• Identification: Your ID cards could be stored on a smartphone and displayed using NFC technology
• Sharing: Using NFC to share electronic business cards, photos, files or data with other people just by touching smartphones together (introduced recently as BlackBerry® Tag)

NFC has four major benefits: convenience, speed, interaction and security. Andrew Bocking, VP Handheld Software Product Management at Research In Motion® (RIM®) gave his thoughts on the uses of NFC in this short video from Mobile World Congress 2011.

Research In Motion is a central and innovative player in the NFC ecosystem. Several of our latest devices, the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone, the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9790 smartphone, the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9360 smartphone, and the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9380 smartphone include an NFC chip – future proofing the devices for developments and applications using NFC.

Increased popularity of “contactless payment” over the last few years has seen it become the most talked about form of NFC use. This method of payment has traditionally been achievable through a “contactless payment card”, looking much the same as a regular credit or debit card but with the card’s chip housing NFC technology. This is set to grow and develop quickly, and we hope to see smartphones increasingly take the place of traditional cards for many consumers. Research In Motion is at the forefront of smartphone-based NFC development and has recently been listed by MasterCard® as accredited for ‘Mobile PayPass Certification’. This means that they meet the functionality, interoperability, and security requirements of MasterCard for contactless mobile payments.

Last month at GITEX, Research In Motion Limited CEO Jim Balsillie announced the introduction of BlackBerry Tag, another NFC powered function for BlackBerry smartphone users. By tapping together two BlackBerry smartphones holding NFC capability, users may be able to exchange contact information, documents, URLs, photos and other multimedia content. No more losing vital business cards as the details are saved directly into the Contacts application.

NFC presents many exciting opportunities moving forward. We believe that this exciting technology can extend well beyond mobile payments and will enable our lives to become much more convenient as programs become integrated, all while remaining secure and reliable. We are encouraging our customers to think about how they will include NFC and contactless transactions in their mobile commerce strategies and customer interactions in the future.

For more information on our BlackBerry Innovation Forum series, follow us @BBEMEABusiness and join the conversation using #BIF11 on Twitter.

How do you see Near Field Communication affecting your day-to-day life in the future? Share in the comments!

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.