BlackBerry

What is BlackBerry?
BlackBerry is a pocket-sized wireless solution, which gives customers access to their email and the Internet when they're on the move. Email is automatically pushed to them – there’s no dial-up and no waiting.

What are the abbreviations ‘RIM’ and ‘BES’?
Research In Motion (RIM) is the manufacturer of the BlackBerry solution.
The abbreviation ‘BES’ stands for BlackBerry Enterprise Server but is NOT an officially recognised acronym.

What are the main components of a BlackBerry solution?
A BlackBerry solution consists of three main components:

• The BlackBerry Enterprise Server
• BlackBerry enabled device
• Desktop Manager (optional)
• An Excell 3G/GPRS Enabled SIM with the BlackBerry APN (Access Point Name) assigned

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server resides within your corporate infrastructure. It is an application that copies, encrypts and pushes email to enabled users devices. The BlackBerry device is a wireless device that uses 3G/GPRS to send and receive data across the mobile network.

The desktop manager is used to sync a device to the PC via a USB connection. This charges the device and allows some management of user settings.

What software will I need to implement BlackBerry Enterprise Server?
To deploy a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) you will need to install the BlackBerry Server software package on a Windows 2000/2003 Server and a database engine (either MSDE 2000 or Microsoft SQL). You will also need to be running Microsoft Exchange Server or Lotus Domino Server.

Will having BlackBerry data moving in and out of my firewall leave my company’s security vulnerable?
No. BlackBerry requires only an outbound connection via your firewall, preventing holes in to your network.

When emails leave the firewall, do they go straight to the BlackBerry device?
No. When an encrypted email leaves your network it is passed through the wireless carrier to RIM’s (Research In Motion’s) infrastructure, known as the NOC. The email is then passed back to the wireless carrier and on to the device.

Apart from live, secure email with attachment viewing, what else will a BlackBerry Enterprise Server provide my users with?
BlackBerry Enterprise Server provides a complete wireless extension of your email client. Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes and sent items will update wirelessly both to and from the device. For example, add a contact to your BlackBerry device and it will be added automatically over the air to your email client, and vice versa - no cables, no local synchronisation and no client side software to maintain

Will my users need to synchronise corporate data locally at their workstations?
No. BlackBerry Enterprise Server offers a full wireless extension of your email client. All data including contacts, tasks and even emails sent from a users desktop computer will be synchronised over the air to their BlackBerry wireless handheld in a live and secure environment. No need to plug in cables to synchronise PIM data locally and thus without any need for client side software.