The biggest area of interest is around the specific details of the BlackBerry® Device Service component of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion. Simply put, the BlackBerry Device Service is to BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets as the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server is to BlackBerry smartphones. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server manages your current BlackBerry smartphones, and the BlackBerry Device Service allows you to manage and secure your organization’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablets – and, moving forward, it will also manage BlackBerry® 10 smartphones. But that’s not all that BlackBerry Device Service offers – there’s even more going on underneath the covers.

In terms of core functionality, the BlackBerry Device Service is designed to enable you to manage and secure your company’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. Once you’ve associated a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with a specific user (a capability available with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0) and enrolled them within the work environment, you can configure settings and policies for the device. Hopefully your organization is looking at the kinds of policies that are appropriate for your staff, but some common examples that BlackBerry Device Service can provide include:

• Encryption of work information
• Requiring manual synchronization while a user is roaming
• Remotely locking tablets
• Remote wipe of work-related (or all) information
• Password controls/enforcement

It’s worth noting that, in typical RIM® fashion, when we talk about “password controls”…we don’t just mean “users can create a password if they want”. We’re talking about a robust set of IT-managed options such as:

• Mandatory Password
• Password required only for work perimeter
• Minimum Password Length
• Required Password Pattern
• Password Timeout
• Maximum Password Attempts
• Maximum Password History
• Maximum Password Age, etc.

It’s important to give options to IT departments, and BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is really about providing options, choices, and flexibility…without compromise. Besides, did you expect any less from the company that offers over 500 IT policies on its BlackBerry Enterprise Server? We don’t take this stuff lightly!

While the BlackBerry Device Service brings new and important management and security capabilities, there are a few more important things to be aware of.

BlackBerry® Balance™ technology: Keeping control in the right hands

BlackBerry Balance technology certainly isn’t new. Since its launch, this technology has been widely adopted by end users interested in protecting their personal data, as well as organizations interested in safeguarding their corporate assets. What is new, however, is the extension of BlackBerry Balance technology to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion includes BlackBerry Balance technology. When a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is activated with the service, a secure AES-256 bit encrypted file system is created on the tablet for work information and applications. This creates a perimeter between work and personal data and helps keep information secure. In the event an employee leaves the organization or a device is misplaced, for example, you can choose to wipe only work-related information or all of the information from the device. Not only does this help to ensure that sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, but it also provides a comfort factor to encourage employees to purchase and bring their own BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to their workplace. With an estimated 65% (Source: Yankee Group’s 2011 US Enterprise Mobility: Employee Survey, Wave 2) of tablets entering the workplace as personal purchases, this is an important consideration.

While it may seem trivial to an end user, the fear that their irreplaceable vacation photos could get wiped by IT, or that their Plants Vs. Zombies high score could be erased is very real.

BlackBerry Balance technology and the Work App Catalogue

And speaking of games and applications, the second key feature to consider is the new “Work App Catalogue”. As a key part of the BlackBerry Device Service, this feature is designed to allow you to manage required and optional work applications remotely on an end users’ BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Remember though, with BlackBerry Balance technology in place, this does not mean you’ll waste your time sorting out whether people should download Angry Birds or Madden 12 – your colleagues can handle that themselves. What it does mean is that you can securely turn an individual’s personal products into corporate productivity tools by providing easy to discover, pre-ordained enterprise apps.

BlackBerry Device Service is designed to provide administrators with a simple method to securely deliver corporate applications to their employees. End users can simply ‘discover’ optional and required corporate applications that have been approved for use by the organization. This approach leverages the familiar and easy-to-use interface of the BlackBerry App World™ storefront to display both corporate and personal applications through a single discovery channel. End users can visually differentiate between personal applications and business applications which are displayed in a private list.

WHAT THE IT ADMIN SEES

WHAT USERS SEE

Optionally, IT administrators can push mandatory applications in a controlled manner to end users. Using BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, administrators can support over-the-air installation, upgrade and audit required and optional applications for BlackBerry devices. For the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion works with BlackBerry App World to enable administrators to push and install required work apps on a user’s tablet.

I know there’s a lot to digest…but that’s rather the point. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is a big deal! This is not just a BlackBerry Enterpriser Server service pack – this is a fundamental evolution in the BlackBerry management tool set. If you haven’t already taken advantage of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and started to test it in your environment, I’d encourage you to get moving…time’s a wastin’! Right now you can download BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and enjoy a free 90-day trial (before standard CAL prices kick in). It’s a great way to test out the technology in a controlled environment before you deploy it companywide.

And don’t worry, we’re here to help you with your deployment and make sure you understand the capabilities of this new technology. If you haven’t already, take a look at this educational webcast, feel free to ask us questions below, and stay tuned to our LinkedIn group and SlideShare™ channel for more information and updates.

Hey, IT administrators – are you the seasoned veteran when it comes to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server experience, or are you a newbie just starting out? No matter what your skill level may be, we’ve got a comprehensive suite of BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5.0x courses that can help you get the most out of your product.

Overall, our BlackBerry platform training takes a “roll up your sleeves” approach to learning, which is a great fit when it comes to sharpening your skills with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. As a participant, you’ll get to train with a simulated BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment and have access to an array of hands-on labs and classroom activities. It will also provide a fantastic opportunity to interact with fellow BlackBerry Administrators, so you can exchange tips and tricks you might have picked up!

Available to all of our participants is the choice between our core BlackBerry Enterprise Server courses – Essential & Comprehensive v5.0x – to give you the complete fundamentals of the latest software, which is great for both beginners and experienced users alike. Additionally, you can learn how to effectively troubleshoot your environment using log files by taking our newest course – BlackBerry Enterprise Server Advanced Troubleshooting using Log Files (ATL). Also, our Essential course has been expanded to include everything you need to know about BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express – we’ll show you how to go beyond email integration and utilize the many possibilities of this product.

All of the BlackBerry® platform training courses have class sizes limited to 12 students, and are developed by experts from Research In Motion® (RIM®) and trainers that are skilled at helping participants understand, absorb and retain knowledge. If your goal is certification, our experience and training along with self-study will help prepare you.

If any of the above interests you, courses are available via our Open Session program in several regions and countries. Check out the Open Session schedule to see when we will be in your area! (Please note that these are priced at $1275 per two-day Open Session, subject to discounts depending on levels of T-Support.)

Have you attended a BlackBerry Training course in the past? What did you think?

Lisa is a Senior Marketing Manager for Enterprise Programs at Research In Motion® (RIM), which means she focuses on marketing activities to engage and educate the decision makers (IT and otherwise) at large organizations. Having worked with her in the past on numerous whitepapers and events, it was my pleasure to grab a coffee and chat with her about the upcoming Gartner’s IT Symposium / ITxpo 2010 in Orlando, Florida, October 17-22nd.

Lisa, once again RIM’s participating in Gartner’s expo…can you explain this event a bit more for those who may not be familiar?

Gartner ITxpo is one of the IT industry’s largest gathering of CIOs and senior IT professionals. The event is hosted by the Gartner analyst firm and encompasses over 350 sessions, workshops, how-to clinics, roundtables, exhibitor displays and more.

Will you be focusing on any particular BlackBerry® smartphone technologies this year?

This year it’s all about extending the platform. We will be featuring BlackBerry® Mobile Voice System 5.0 and Chalk Pushcast software. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on Applications – Super Apps and Enterprise solutions in particular. For the first time at this event, we’ll be featuring partners in a BlackBerry Partner Pavilion. The companies that are participating either have pre-built enterprise applications or have the tools and expertise to help mobilize in-house applications. We’re very excited for attendees to meet with these experienced partners who offer numerous solutions: on the fly troubleshooting, protecting confidential calls, internal/external collaboration tools, and so on.

Can you tell me a bit about the BlackBerry Partner Pavilion?

Sure! The Partner Pavilion is a place for attendees to check out a variety of different BlackBerry Enterprise applications. We’ll have representatives from the following partners at the show to answer any questions:

• GWAVA – Retention/eDiscovery for PIN, SMS, Messenger text messages and phone data. Integrates with any email archive solution. No software on the devices. No additional hardware required.
• CONCEIVIUM Business Solutions – CONCEIVIUM is a leading technology company[true?] delivering innovative mobile infrastructure and device management products as well as priority messaging solutions for organizations around the world.
• Cellcrypt – Cellcrypt encrypts voice calls on BlackBerry smartphones, helping to ensure conversations remain confidential. Cellcrypt’s easy-to-use software provides government-grade security (FIPS 140-2) over cellular, Wi-Fi® and satellite networks.
• Zenprise – Zenprise Mobile Manager monitors, manages, and secures enterprise BlackBerry smartphones and will provision, monitor, troubleshoot, secure and run real-time reports across a distributed BlackBerry® Enterprise Server environment from a central dashboard.
• DragonRAD – DragonRAD is a mobility platform for building, deploying, managing, and securing mobile enterprise applications across all BlackBerry smartphones.
• Boxtone – Via a single unified console, BoxTone software delivers proactive management, monitoring, support and security of mobile users, devices, platforms and applications across the entire mobile lifecycle.
• IBM Lotus Software – Experience highly secure enterprise social networking capabilities and a highly secure framework for document-based collaboration on a BlackBerry smartphone.
• Vox Mobile – Vox Mobile specializes in Mobile Technology Management. Their services are segmented into Mobile Platform Services, Mobile Managed Services, and Mobile Engineering.
• Xobni Mobile – Xobni Mobile gives users effortless address book management. Automatically create profiles for everyone, ranked by importance and using lightning-fast search by name or company.

This year there is a unique way that attendees can interact with RIM – can you tell me a bit about that?

Our Customer Insights team will be on site doing in-depth customer interviews. This is an opportunity for you to tell us what you think about our products, services, partners, and more. RIM is committed to continually improving the customer experience and we value our customer’s opinions. If you are attending Gartner ITxpo we’d love to see you (visit RIM and our partners in booth #1200!), and if you’re interested in speaking with our Insights team, you can contact us to arrange an interview time.

Thanks Lisa, it certainly sounds like another great program, and hopefully customers will have a chance to meet you in person if they’re attending.

More and more employers are making it possible for employees to connect their personal smartphones to their corporate email, because it’s good for business and is also considered a benefit to employees that want to manage their work and life on BlackBerry. Research In Motion (RIM) is running a series of learning sessions in cities across North America designed to help IT managers embrace the reality of personal-liable smartphones in the enterprise space.

Analyst Maribel Lopez will walk attendees through the risks and rewards of bringing employee’s personal smartphones into the business world and share tactics for management success. Attendees will be able to share best practices with fellow leaders and ask questions of RIM and other industry experts. There will also be a demonstration of the recently released BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express software for all who attend!

Please see the list below to find the event registration page that’s right for you.

Toronto, ON – March 25th, 2010
Chicago, IL – March 30th, 2010
Dallas, TX – March 31st, 2010
San Jose, CA – April 1st, 2010

These learning sessions are free, but participation is limited, so please register now. All attendees will receive the Smart Policies for Personal-Liable Smartphone white paper and be entered into a draw for a free BlackBerry Starter Pack.

We hope you can join us!

BONUS: Read the most recent BlackBerry Connection Newsletter for more information on connecting personal employee smartphones.

We’re excited to introduce BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express today, a new server software offering that enables businesses of any size to quickly and easily get started with the BlackBerry solution. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express works with Microsoft email servers, including Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 and 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2010, 2007 and 2003, to provide users with secure, push-based, wireless access to email, calendar, contacts, notes, tasks, and more.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is also free: the software requires no additional user license fees, and works with any Internet-enabled or enterprise data plan.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express benefits both the BlackBerry smartphone end user and IT administrators. Click the links below to learn more about the end user, IT management and security features of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express end user features
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express IT management and support features
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express security features

Don’t forget to also register for BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express availability updates. In the coming weeks, the Inside BlackBerry blog team will be talking more about BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server in general (a topic that might be quite new to many of our readers), so stay tuned!