It’s time to get your business migrated to the latest enterprise mobility management technology. Whether you’re considering adopting a BYOD approach, looking to integrate enterprise apps into your processes and workflow, or everything in between, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1 has got what you need.

We recently published an overview of the features of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1. The update includes a simplified deployment experience, more extensive EMM controls for customers in regulated industries, dashboard enhancements, and unified cross-platform administration. Today I’d like to focus on how you can upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1, including some new offers and discounts that you can take advantage of.

So you’ve got a BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4…

If you’re still running BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 4, the first thing that you’ll want to do is upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5.0.4. This way, you’ll be able to add on BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and take advantage of all of the fantastic functionality and consolidate your view to all your BlackBerry devices. The good news is that we’re offering upgrades from BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4 to BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 for FREE (a $995 USD value)! Learn more and take advantage of the offer by heading over to www.blackberry.com/blackberry10ready.

Once you’ve updated to BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5.0.4, read on to continue on your migration path to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1.

So you’ve got a BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5…

With BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1, you can now install the software on a single physical or virtual server and eliminate a separate server for BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5. Head over to www.blackberry.com/bes10 and download a free 60-day trial, purchase licenses, or find a reseller.

If you’re updating your fleet of BlackBerry smartphones to BlackBerry 10 models, you can trade up Client Access Licenses (CAL’s) from BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 for free on a one-for-one basis until December 31st, 2013. Learn more and trade up licenses at www.blackberry.com/licensetradeup.

So you’ve got a BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10…

Good! Now all that you need is version 10.1. It’s available as a free download from www.blackberry.com/bes10 and can be installed quickly and simply onto your existing deployment. You’ll also need to migrate your BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 Client Access Licenses to version 10.1. As always, it’s easy to migrate and it won’t cost you a thing.

Get up and running with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.1! All of the details, including why you should upgrade in the first place, can be found at the newly redesigned www.blackberry.com/blackberry10ready.

Early in December of 2012 we launched the BlackBerry 10 Ready Program to provide businesses around the globe with the tools, offers, and knowledge that they needed to prepare for BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

The program includes a free BlackBerry 10 smartphone offer with BES 10 installation and training courses, a license trade up program to help you seamlessly switch to BlackBerry 10 from prior BlackBerry smartphones, a webcast series, and BlackBerry 10 Readiness Services to provide you with a suite of support options for installation and upgrades.

With BlackBerry 10 launching around the world and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 available for download, let’s take a look at some of the progress so far.

• Over 4,400 businesses in North America have registered for the BlackBerry 10 Ready Offer alone, just one component of the BlackBerry 10 Ready program.
• The BlackBerry 10 Ready Webcast series has reached an audience of over 15,000 IT professionals and administrators
• The BlackBerry Experience Forum events are mid-way through their global tour to provide hands-on time with BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, as well as access to BlackBerry staff and experts. Every event has been booked well over capacity. Join the conversation with us at @BlackBerry4Biz and use the hashtag #BEF13.

We’re excited about the significant momentum that we’re seeing here. Both our product portfolio and our company have been re-engineered and re-invented, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Don’t take my word for it, let’s look at what a few of your peers had to say:

Air Canada – “BlackBerry 10 helps meet our needs in that it delivers a new platform that brings the excitement and the energy that our employees are starting to expect from mobile devices.”

McCain Foods Ltd. – “First impressions of BlackBerry 10 is it’s very innovative and packed with lots of brand new features and functions that we’re going to take advantage of immediately.”

Ricoh Canada Inc. – “Data integrity has always been paramount for Ricoh IT, so the ability to achieve that is a tremendous plus for the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 platform.”

We were able to hand deliver BlackBerry Z10 smartphones to the global IT and mobility leadership of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates law firm in New York City during the BlackBerry Technical Preview program. Check out their first look at the next generation mobile computing platform and the feedback that they had below:

And finally, Stephen Perciballi, Practice Lead for Security (and mobility) at Softchoice, was able to visit us here on BlackBerry campus and share his thoughts on BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 as a trusted advisor and provider of mobile technology to hundreds of clients. Read the full interview here on the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog.

Has your business upgraded to BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 yet? If you have, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you haven’t, let us help you get started!

Today I have the distinct privilege of sharing some of the excitement around the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 launch earlier this week. We here at BlackBerry are committed to keeping your business moving and are acutely aware that the greatest benefit we can generate for our enterprise customers is to strike that perfect balance between end-user and corporate needs. In order to ensure this balance, we are heavily focused on the key pillars of Mobile Device Management: Security, Unified Communications, and Business Applications. As we progress through 2013, you will hear more details around many of these pillars but today I want to talk about BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and 10 things that you should know:

1. It Helps Keep Corporate Data Secure

First and foremost, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 builds upon our long-held Security pedigree as the Gold Standard in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) – so much so that we made sure to go out and get FIPS 140-2 certification prior to the official launch of the product. You can rest assured that the trusted BlackBerry infrastructure is in place along with proven end-to-end 256-bit encryption and a secure behind-the-firewall path for all applications, the browser, email, and PIM. In addition, you can configure corporate Wi-Fi and VPN connectivity. But we didn’t stop there: Seamless Sign-on and enterprise authentication from the work perimeter as well as enterprise notifications from behind-the-firewall make accessing corporate content and applications a rich and seamless user experience.

2. BlackBerry Balance Provides a Win-Win Scenario

We all know that there’s a tug of war in the workplace where businesses want to give employees the device they desire without sacrificing manageability, security, or cost. So, in order to have the best of both worlds, we have integrated BlackBerry Balance into the BlackBerry 10 platform. Once a device is activated within BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, all corporate data is segregated in its own encrypted “work” space. Administrators maintain granular control over a secure work perimeter while personal applications, data privacy, and the end user’s personal experience are fully preserved no matter whether the user is bringing their own device to work or it’s a corporate provided device.

3. It Manages Applications Like a Boss

Applications are increasingly becoming a key component of an Enterprise Mobility Management solution. With BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, we have created an enterprise-grade application management framework. IT Administrators can deploy, manage, and secure mandatory and recommended applications to employees. They have the ability to assign applications to specific users or groups of users. They can remove work applications if a user deactivates their device. Moreover, there is a great connection between BlackBerry Balance and application management. Businesses can easily manage and curate a corporate application store – BlackBerry World for Work. Securely deploy your own in-house and or third-party application to the Work Space on both a corporate provided or personally owned device.

4. A Buffet of Mobile Device Management Options

Device Management is paramount to an Enterprise Mobility Management strategy and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 is the only solution which can manage the entire fleet of BlackBerry devices including BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. Some companies may take a relaxed approach to device management and security, in which case BlackBerry 10 support for the ActiveSync protocol will meet their needs for synchronizing with their email platform and basic device management. Enterprises which are sensitive to the need to secure their corporate data will require greater security and management capabilities, which BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 offers. For these customers, a solution that delivers more comprehensive security and management controls is required, and it also supports personal use of the device.

5. It Meets the Needs of Highly Regulated Industries

Highly regulated and government organizations, and those businesses that take security very seriously require more stringent and granular EMM controls. The ability to control how personal apps interact with work contacts and networks, how data moves between work and personal perimeters, specifying work domains so resources can be contained to work perimeters, and they ability to control transfer of work files, contacts and messages via Bluetooth profiles are just some of the examples that EMM controls can offer.

6. Enterprise Grade Multi-Platform Management is Here

In addition to BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 can be used to manage and secure iOS and Android devices. Administrators can add and import iOS and Android users, create group memberships, view user and device information, define IT controls and connectivity settings, manage applications, and assist users with the recovery of misplaced devices. In addition to these great management capabilities, we have integrated support for the TouchDown application for Android devices. Essentially, it is an ActiveSync-enabled add-on PIM application. It enables full PIM Sync and ActiveSync policies in order to fill the native ActiveSync gaps which exist on many Android devices.

The other key feature is Secure Enterprise Access, also referred to as Gatekeeping. A Gatekeeping solution acts as an access control and monitoring layer on top of an existing mobile email server. Some of the benefits of a Gatekeeping solution include requirement to block unauthorized employees from trying to access corporate email using personal devices by directly connecting to Exchange ActiveSync or a situation when an employee leaves your company and his or her personal device should no longer be permitted to connect to your server.

7. It Does it All from a Single Web-Based Console

An absolutely critical feature of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 is the Unified Administrator Console – a single web-based console used to manage devices, applications, users, and security services. You can also manage your BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express environment through the single console. You can manage all devices in one location, provision and activate devices, administer controls, push mandatory applications, and group users based on common criteria – all available out of the box. Great new capabilities include multiple active devices per user – in the case of a BlackBerry 10 smartphone and a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, for example – as well as the ability to manage multiple servers from a single domain.

8. There’s a Straightforward Migration Path

We’ve also made sure that the migration path is as straightforward as possible. In-market solutions such as the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (currently version 5 Service Pack 4), which manages BlackBerry OS devices including BlackBerry 7, as well as BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, which added support for managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, iOS and Android devices, all have a path to the next generation BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. BES 10 will be an upgrade to BlackBerry Mobile Fusion which will add support for BlackBerry 10 devices, meaning the migration path will be seamless. We know you don’t want to touch your existing production environment, so BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 will continue to run and support your BlackBerry OS base. Users can migrate over time as you upgrade to BlackBerry 10. Keep in mind you can manage all your devices from a single Unified Admin Console!

The BlackBerry 10 Ready Program helps provide educational resources, tools, support, and offers to make the migration as seamless as possible. Learn more at www.blackberry.com/blackberry10ready.

9. You Can Trade Up Your BlackBerry Enterprise Server Licenses

To make the move to BlackBerry 10 even easier, we have implemented a BlackBerry Enterprise Server License Trade Up program. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server License Trade Up allows enterprise customers to leverage their existing investment in BlackBerry Enterprise Server licenses and trade them up for new licenses that will enable them to secure and manage BlackBerry 10 smartphones with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. We will be offering customers who purchase BlackBerry 10 smartphones the ability to trade up their existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server licenses on a one for one basis for free, until December 31, 2013. Learn more at www.blackberry.com/licensetradeup.

10. Global Technical Support is Here to Help

You cannot have a complete solution without a Global technical support program behind it. Our BlackBerry Technical Support Services (BTSS) has been streamlined to three tiers—Basic, Advantage and Premium—and includes new simplified pricing to align with BlackBerry 10. We’ve taken the features from the former Enhanced tier and added them to the Basic tier at that lower price. And for customers who want direct support which was included in the former Standard tier, they may purchase it as an option at the Advantage tier, or for a limited time, in a bundle with a Support Service Specialist. Learn more about the BlackBerry 10 Readiness Services that can help speed you on your way.

So there you have it: 10 things you should know about BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10! We are committed to keeping your business moving! Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) is one of the main features that attract customers to BlackBerry® smartphones. Used by over 60 million customers worldwide, it provide instant communications, allows you to break down the barriers of costly international messaging, provides efficiency in the transfer of data, and allows you to keep on top of your work and social life. Today we’re excited to announce that BBM 7.0, with a new feature called BBM Voice, is now available.

BBM now has Voice

With BBM version 7.0, you’ll have the ability to voice chat with your BBM contacts over Wi-Fi®. This is a significant update to the platform and its capabilities, and gives you the choice of text or talk. If you’ve got news that’s too big to share through text chat, simply hit the call button and jump into a call. You can toggle between text and talk, and you can see whether a contact is available for a voice chat.

Additionally, you have the ability to multitask while on a BBM Voice call – browse the web, check email, use other apps on your smartphone, or send BBM notes to another contact. BBM Voice is also compatible with the accessories you have now for your BlackBerry smartphone. Use a headset or Bluetooth® accessory and easily switch between them through the onscreen menu during the chat (you can also talk through the speakerphone on your handset).

BlackBerry ID Integration

In addition to BBM Voice, you’ll be able to synchronize your BBM contacts between smartphones now that BBM is associated with your BlackBerry ID.

Why this is good news for business customers and professionals

I’ve long been a proponent of using BBM for business purposes. A little over a year ago I published a post entitled “How to Use BlackBerry Messenger 6 for Business” – and the opportunities to do so with version 7 are greater than ever.

• More than just text (and now voice), BBM allows you to share calendar invites, voice notes, photos, and attachments up to 6 MB. This is great for sharing files quickly and efficiently with coworkers to increase collaboration.
• International businesses can use BBM as a fully-functional text, voice, and data transfer platform for communicating at a low cost. Companies such as Homex India Private Ltd. have found significant advantages in using BBM to span time zones and locations for speedy collaboration.
• Groups and categories allow you to stay organized and in regular contact with your team in the office, and using BBM often allows you to get directly in touch by cutting through the mass of email that many individuals face. This gives you quick answers and a quick connection – and using BBM Voice as part of this process is icing on the cake.

How will you use BBM 7.0 with BBM Voice for business? Share in the comments below!

While I was in Washington D.C. a few weeks ago, both on one of the BlackBerry® commuter shuttles and at the first Appy Hour event, I had a chance to help out with some more demonstrations of the BlackBerry® 7 OS and BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets. Even though I use these devices on a daily basis, I love to explore the functions and tie the features into everyday business and personal use cases. Showcasing them to those viewing the devices and software for the first time makes it even better!

After walking through a few demonstrations of BlackBerry 7 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, I think a few of the biggest hits were remote control via BlackBerry Bridge, the overall interface of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet (including the intuitive bezel gestures), and the mini-HDMI output that allows you to present on a projector, TV, or monitor at full HD 1080p.

As for BlackBerry 7 OS, the liquid graphics certainly pack a punch – but beyond the performance and sleek hardware, built-in apps like the updated BlackBerry® Travel, BlackBerry® Maps (with new contextual deals), and BlackBerry® Mobile Conferencing make the devices a must have for business.

The truth is, many organizations and individuals are using BlackBerry® 6 smartphones – and while we all have a soft spot for our original BlackBerry devices, we still want to get the latest and greatest into your hands! Unpacking some of the features of the top-of-the-line BlackBerry 7 OS models was a great experience, and the responses were fantastic as all involved were able to easily see how these can translate into more productivity at work and more intuitive connections to friends, family, and colleagues.

Cool phones…but what I get isn’t up to me!

Hands-on demos are great and all, but with many organizations in government providing the devices for work use, how can you actually make an upgrade happen? We’re trying to help with that too. Head over to www.upgrademenow.com to get some help on making that business case, or to learn how you can trade up a personally owned phone for a newer model (there are some amazing deals that can come along with this if you’re eligible!). Check it out today, and let us know how it goes.

Have you upgraded from BlackBerry 6 to a BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone? What do you like best about the new model? Share in the comments below.

Business Class Commuting

That loud morning alarm, the coffee that takes too long to brew, the traffic that jams itself up faster than you thought possible… No one likes to commute, that’s for sure. But, we figured that if you’ve got to do it, we might as well provide a free and comfortable option for you to do it in style! Introducing “business class commuting” for the month of May: a BlackBerry shuttle service for those of you heading into and out of Washington D.C. If you see one of these shuttles, climb aboard! Not only will you handle the early morning trek in comfort, you’ll also have a chance to try out BlackBerry 7 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, which we’ve made available in the shuttles and loaded up with apps and bookmarks we think you might like.

The response that I’ve seen so far has been fantastic. Beyond the free ride, individuals are really learning new things about BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, and how they can be leveraged in amazing ways for both personal and work purposes. Don’t take my word for it – check out the video below:

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

Appy Hours Have Arrived!

One more thing before you run out the door to find a BlackBerry commuter shuttle: “Appy Hours” are also being introduced in May. The first was on Thursday May 10th, and there will be a second on May 30th from 6-8pm at Bullfeathers. If you missed the opportunity to get your hands on a BlackBerry 7 smartphone or a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, this is your chance! You’ll also be able to ask questions, explore some of the incredible government use cases going on with this technology, and unwind after a long day.

Have you upgraded to BlackBerry 7 yet? If not, head over to www.upgrademenow.com to get the full scoop. If you have, share your favorite feature in the comments below!

But in the collection of daunting IT tasks, right now, upgrading to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server v5 might offer a silver lining. In a previous post, I mentioned a great incentive that’s currently in place for upgrading to BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5. While many customers have already taken advantage of this offer, I thought I’d touch a bit more on the details of this program to address some common questions – I’d hate for anyone to miss out because they didn’t have the information.

The offer works as follows: upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5 before December 31st, 2011 and receive a free BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet! The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is the perfect companion device for any user on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. You can share presentations directly through the HDMI output, access enterprise web apps through its HTML 5.0 and Adobe® Flash® capable browser, and download dozens of productivity applications and enterprise tools to see how these might benefit your organization. There’s so much to explore in terms of how you can leverage tablets in your mobility strategy, and it’s a great way for IT staff to start testing the waters.

As an additional bonus, for many customers, acquiring the BlackBerry Enterprise Software v5 has no additional cost as it’s included in the BlackBerry® Technical Support Services program at the Advantage Level for small and medium sized businesses or Premium or higher for Enterprise. That said, whether you acquire your BlackBerry Enterprise Software v5 as a new one-off purchase or as a complimentary download through the BlackBerry Technical Support Services program, the free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet offer still stands.

Of course, I’m not naïve enough to suggest that acquiring software is the same as installing it – if that were the case, even I could be an IT manager! So to help you with the actual installation, participating BlackBerry resellers are offering $400 off upgrade installation services. These partners – including CDW, Insight, SHI, Softchoice, and Zones – can help install, deploy, and manage the complete BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5 installation for a fee, customized to your organization’s specific requirements.

And when everything’s done, the process to get your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet couldn’t be easier. You simply go to the Move Up To More website, register your address information and SRP ID number, and voila!

But even if you ignore these incentives (which are hard to ignore!), there are some rock solid reasons to upgrade your BlackBerry Enterprise Server. These are covered in detail on our SlideShare site and discussed in previous blog posts. In short: you’ve got enhanced monitoring and management tools, new administrative capabilities, increased end-user productivity, and of course access to BlackBerry® Balance™ technology.

So you’ve got a software upgrade that could be available at no extra charge as part of your existing services, $400 off the installation services offered by participating BlackBerry resellers, and a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet…suddenly that daunting task isn’t looking so bad! Certainly a lot more enticing than helping your brother move (for which my back is still sore).

Have you upgraded yet? What new features have you taken advantage of? Are you still holding off on the upgrade? What roadblocks are you facing?

If you’re an IT manager considering whether to update your organization to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server v5.0, you may want to act now. If you upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 before December 31st, 2011, you’ll receive a free BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet! (For the terms & conditions associated with this offer, please visit www.blackberrymoveuptomore.com)

Why update your mobile environment to version v5.0? IT administrators will benefit from:

• Advanced Mobile Management through a New administrative console
• Built-in High Availability and Reliability
• Enhanced Application Deployment and Management
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Transporter Tool
• …and many more features

End-users will enjoy the benefits of:

• Remote File Access
• Email Folder Management
• Enhanced Calendar Functionality
• Synchronization of public and private contacts
• Flag emails for follow up
• Listen to Windows Media Audio (WMA) files
• And more great features that enhance end-user productivity

Many organizations have already completed various stages of testing/piloting of BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0, but in addition to this offer, there is one more reason why we think you should consider upgrading today: Participating BlackBerry partners are offering $400 off the BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 upgrade install service. So if your staff is busy on a hundred other projects, engage one of our resellers to do the heavy lifting and perform the complete installation, customized to your organizations’ exact requirements.

With a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, offers of $400 off installation services by selected partners, and a list of new server features as long as my arm, there’s never been a better time to Move Up To More!

Are you using BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0? What features are you finding most useful? Are you still on a previous version of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server? What roadblocks are you facing in launching your upgrade efforts?

Check out the five reasons below in a PDF brochure!

BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 is an extremely robust and flexible solution, and we’ve made sure that upgrading takes as little time and effort as possible in order to minimize downtime. With all of the new features that bring ease of operations in your organization, upgrading should certainly be on your mind!

Is your business running BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0? Tell us your favorite feature in the comments!