[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

What we learned, who was there, and what happened

BlackBerry 10 is getting all of us more excited every day. The live demonstration showcased fantastic UI elements like the flow, notification screen, and the BlackBerry Hub, as well as how application management is experienced by end users via App World and App World for Work. As a hobbyist BlackBerry developer on the side of my social media work at RIM, the screen real estate, crisp resolution, and smooth transitions have me itching to get started.

On that note, why not get started? With the BlackBerry 10 platform, developing for BlackBerry has never been easier. Whether you’re into HTML5 with WebWorks, Native Qt/C++ development with Cascades, or Adobe AIR – the SDK’s are available, BlackBerry Dev Alpha and Beta devices are being provided to eligible attendees, and the guides are plentiful on http://www.blackberry.com/developer. Many are also porting over their existing Android apps to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ and BlackBerry 10 platform.

With functionality like BlackBerry MDS Connection Service included with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, connecting to data behind a firewall becomes a very straightforward experience – no need to create a VPN connection and re-invent the wheel. What this means is that BlackBerry 10 apps will prove to not only be extremely aesthetically pleasing, but also vastly functional in an enterprise environment.

The feedback from developers was outstanding, as seen not only in the applause and energy during the BlackBerry 10 live demonstration, but also in countless conversations between attendees and the RIM development staff on-hand to help answer questions, provide more in-depth information, and get everyone up and running.

We’ll be in Chicago and New York!

The BlackBerry Jam World Tour – Enterprise Edition events are not over by any means. If you’re in the area, be sure to check out our plans for Chicago (Nov 28) and New York (Dec 12); register at www.blackberryjamenterprise.com!

Have you attended one of the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour – Enterprise Edition events? What was your favorite aspect? Share in the comments below.

As the trend for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) increases within the enterprise, organizations must establish criteria for an Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution that provides a balance of freedom for employees and security of corporate data. While end users want freedom of choice when it comes to the smartphones and tablets they use, organizations must address the added risks in security this freedom can bring in addition to potential unexplored issues in critical areas such as compliance, data, liability and support. By successfully deploying an EMM solution, IT can enable a company’s mobile workers and make the business more productive, efficient, agile, and responsive to the needs of the customers and employees.

Here are 7 key factors to consider while in the discovery phase of the search for MDM solutions:

1. Functionality – for example, how well the solution manages multiple mobile platforms, including BlackBerry®, iOS and Android™
2. Security features for data in transit and at rest
3. Reputation and reliability of vendor
4. Vendor support, including technical, sales, and account support
5. Management capabilities and policies
6. Availability of a complete solution
7. Flexibility of the solution to manage IT and user needs, as well as scalability

The opportunity – and the challenge – of finding the right EMM or MDM solution is to make workers and organizations more productive through enhanced mobility and the expanded use of personal-liable devices. There is no doubt, though, that this is a trend that is here to stay. IT administrators need MDM solutions to deliver the security, management capabilities, scalability and stability required in this new paradigm.

RIM® offers BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion, which provides unified management of BlackBerry smartphones, BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets, and iOS or Android operating systems. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion also supports BlackBerry® Balance™ technology which enables IT to establish and enforce policies that separate personal and business data and allows IT admins to remote-wipe corporate data from devices if necessary, while leaving personal data untouched.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

In August, we introduced the next generation EMM solution, BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10). BES 10 is the future of managing your organizations’ mobile deployment with a single platform and the evolution of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, ActiveSync, and BlackBerry Mobile Fusion. BES 10 represents a consolidation of our enterprise mobility management (EMM) product portfolio, which includes our MDM, security, infrastructure, and app management products. In an update scheduled for May 2013, new features will allow you to upgrade your current BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, providing a solution which integrates with your current deployment.

To learn more about finding the right MDM solution for your enterprise, register for, or log into, the BlackBerry Resource Center and take a look at The 7 Key Factors in Choosing a Mobile Device Management Solution. The BlackBerry Resource Center is also your one stop BlackBerry Knowledge Source to access hundreds of resources including white papers, webcasts, and the Solutions Showcase.

What criteria are most important to your enterprise when deciding on an MDM solution?

Check out the video below to learn how RIM is innovating in the area of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) and with BlackBerry 10, what the path is from a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5 to BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10, and what the future holds for our enterprise product portfolio.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

What would be the most useful information for you to know about the RIM enterprise product roadmap? We’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

For many organizations, BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express is the essential platform for mobilizing employees worldwide, and Research In Motion® (RIM®) continues to make improvements and enhancements to the solution. BlackBerry Enterprise Server is recognized as the gold standard in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), which also encompasses Mobile Device Management (MDM).

Features and Enhancements

BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5 Service Pack 4 is available today for Microsoft® Exchange and IBM® Lotus® Domino®, and coming in November 2012 for Novell® GroupWise®. This free update introduces new features for both administrators and end-users. The service pack and all feature updates apply to both BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express deployments. Check out the details below:

Improvements for administrators

• Access control rules for groups
• BlackBerry Administration Service improvements
• The latest security patches and bug fixes are included

Improvements for the End User experience

• Improved handling of HTML email messages
• Support for larger email attachments
• Improved graphics rendering for Microsoft® PowerPoint® attachments
• Support for Microsoft Office password-protected attachments
• Calendar & message enhancements

Enterprises that utilize Novell GroupWise as their business email platform will be pleased to learn that BlackBerry Balance is now available to address the needs of their employee-owned BlackBerry® smartphones, or to extend the full BlackBerry experience to their corporately-owned BlackBerry smartphones. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.4 update will be available for Novell GroupWise in November of 2012.

Getting ready for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

We’ve heard it from our customers – your enterprise mobility management needs are changing as you face new trends and challenges, and as you prepare for the future. We’re expanding and consolidating our enterprise product portfolio alongside you to make sure that you’re well prepared, by releasing solutions like BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and designing BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10.

While these are exciting changes, RIM does remain firmly committed to supporting the BlackBerry Enterprise Server well into the future with care and attention paid to keeping security and management up to date with service packs and maintenance releases.

Upgrading to BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5 Service Pack 4 prepares you for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 which will be launching with BlackBerry® 10 smartphones, with an update planned for BlackBerry World™ in May 2013. The May update is designed to enable BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 to be installed on the same physical server that is currently running BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5, enabling organizations to securely manage all of their BlackBerry smartphones & tablets, in addition to iOS® and Android™ devices, from a single platform.

Get the Service Pack Today

This Service Pack is available at no additional charge for existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 customers, and can be downloaded from www.blackberry.com/besupdate

There is no change in server or Client Access License (CAL) pricing. If you currently run BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4, you can upgrade to the latest version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 for $999 USD (plus any applicable fees/taxes), or for free for those with Advantage or higher BlackBerry® Technical Support Services subscriptions.

Need help upgrading to the latest Service Pack? Don’t forget that you can always contact BlackBerry Technical Support Services to assist you. BlackBerry Technical Support Services offers both incident-based pricing or annual subscriptions which provide 7x24x365 end-to-end technical support for BlackBerry Enterprise Server, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, and BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry® PlayBookTM tablets. For more information on BlackBerry Technical Support Services, check out www.blackberry.com/btss

What is BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10?

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 represents a consolidation of our enterprise mobility management (EMM) product portfolio, which includes our mobile device management (MDM), security, infrastructure, and app management products. It will prepare your organization for the future of mobile diversity, as well as integrate with your existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) deployment. From a single unified web-based console, BES 10 will manage the following devices:

• BlackBerry 7 OS and prior smartphones
• BlackBerry 10 devices
• BlackBerry PlayBook tablets
• iOS and Android™ smartphones and tablets

BES 10 will be the ultimate management solution for all BlackBerry platform devices, as well as iOS and Android devices. BES 10 will launch with the first BlackBerry 10 devices in Q1 of calendar year 2013.

RIM remains committed to our enterprise customers by providing advanced, innovative, and flexible options for a straight-forward migration to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, as well as cross-platform management of your mobile device deployment.

What will the components and requirements be for BES 10?

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 will be a complete solution that includes several components to manage multiple smartphones and tablets. Management occurs through a single, unified web-based administration console that will provide one place to manage all of the devices listed above.

In addition to the unified management console, the components of BES 10 will initially include current products already in market:

• BlackBerry® Device Service (BDS) – supporting BlackBerry PlayBook tablets and BlackBerry 10 smartphones when they launch in Q1 2013 through the use of Microsoft ActiveSync for email and PIM synchronization
• Universal Device Service (UDS) – providing Enterprise Mobility Management functions for iOS and Android devices
• Integration with existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 5.0.3 and above

During 2013 we will consolidate the multiple names that we have in our portfolio today into one single product name. The terms “BlackBerry Mobile Fusion”, “BlackBerry Device Service” and “Universal Device Service” will be phased out in favor of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

What about servers? Will multiple physical deployments be required?

With the initial launch of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, BES 5+ will require its own server, while BlackBerry Device Service and Universal Device Service can reside on separate servers or be combined on the same physical or virtual server. Should you opt to work with virtual servers, we fully support this type of deployment. Today, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion operates in a similar fashion, with BES 5+ requiring one server, and both BDS and UDS able to be deployed on a single server or on separate servers.

The future of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

The roadmap for BES 10 includes an upgrade currently scheduled for BlackBerry World in May 2013. This upgrade will consolidate BDS and UDS into a single component, and will allow for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and existing BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES 5.0.3+) to run on the same physical server; both seamlessly managed using a single fully featured management console. Additionally, with BES 10 there will no longer be a requirement to have the server connected to the same Local Area Network as the mail server. These developments will centralize mobility management into a single point and provide flexibility, convenience, and added functionality.

We are excited to share more about BES 10 through this autumn. Stay tuned for further details on pricing, the path forward from a current BES 5 deployment, and details on IT policies and management configurations. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 will launch with the first BlackBerry 10 devices in early 2013.

Frequently Asked Questions about BES 10

Is this a net new service or a name change?

BES 10 represents both an evolution and consolidation of RIM’s enterprise mobility management (EMM) offer to make things simple, flexible, and scalable for your organization. New functionality for managing BlackBerry 10 devices will be included, and existing functionality (currently in BlackBerry Mobile Fusion) will be incorporated into a single product offering.

The “BES 10″ name builds on our heritage as the leading provider of enterprise mobility management solutions. We are working to consolidate our product offerings, including our operating systems, smartphones, tablets, software, cloud services, and enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions.

If the platform is changing to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, should I install BlackBerry Mobile Fusion today?

Yes. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will allow you to manage BlackBerry PlayBook tablets as well as iOS and Android devices today; it will also prepare you for a simple and straightforward upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 once it’s available in early 2013, when it launches together with the first of our new BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

I have an existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Why should I add BES 10 to my infrastructure?

BES 10 is designed to integrate with your existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server deployment, allowing you to seamlessly manage not only your existing BlackBerry smartphones, but also upcoming BlackBerry 10 devices and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, as well as iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. It will work with what you have, and set you up for success in the future.

How does RIM plan to support BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) moving forward?

We will continue to provide support for the many existing BES deployments, as well as provide updates and patches to make sure that you’re running the most secure mobile device management solution available. We’re committed to protecting your investment, while anticipating the challenges that your business will face moving forward when it comes to enterprise mobility. Updates for current BES deployments are planned throughout this Fall: The 5.0.4 update for BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express running Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino is scheduled for September 2012, with support for servers running Novell GroupWise planned to become available later in the Fall of 2012.