Question about MS Exchange Server 2007 & BB's
 

1st the given: my company is currently using MS Exchange Server 2003 and Sprint Blackberry 8830s without BES. Yes, i know what most will say, but the owners have made the decision not to deploy BES.

We are looking to upgrade to MS Exchange Server 2007 64bit and i have been hearing (from MS reps, MS partners, and even here) that functionality is lost once MS Exchange Server 2007 is installed.

I have seen the posts from others on how to make MS Exchange Server 2007 and BES work together but no one has asked if it will still work using my carrier's (BES) service?

Anyone with experience in this situation?

Are you talking about functionality lost when using BIS to access Exchange 2007 OWA?

no i am talking about if functionality lost if i do not have BIS (or BES: blackberry exchange server) and i migrate/upgrade to Exchange 2007.

You said your carriers BES i your first post but you also say that you're not using BIS or BES service. How exactly are they getting email on their BB? What is your current setup? As much detail as you can provide would be great.

i think i misunderstood how bb's work and how the rim plays into the service.

in my company we do not use the blackberry exchange server. we depend soley on the carrier (sprint) and the rim service for email redirection from our microsoft exchange server 2003 using the outlook web access (owa).

i was wondering if once we upgrade to microsoft exchange server 2007 and the new owa, will we lose bb functionality similar to a company using blackberry exchange server? or will everything work just fine?

That's BIS.

Hard to say. RIM has not yet certified BIS to work with OWA 2007 yet.
People here say it works fine, but it's not officially supported yet.
Chances are, you'll be OK.

Your comment of "similar to a company using blackberry exchange server" is very confusing. BES isn't even a factor here, so it's odd that you mention it. BES works fine with Exchange 2007 and no functionality is lost at all by moving from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007 in a BES environment.

What I don't understand is that if you're dropping what $5K to $10K to upgrade to Exchange '07 (64 bit server, 64 bit o/s + MSFT tax) why are you 'rubbishing' your mobility solution by not dropping the $1-2$K for a BES??

BES is just SOOO much better than BIS even with OWA access you know it makes sense - doesn't it?

oh i do know the BES is better BUT:
1. it was not my choice as it director not to buy and implement BES, it was up to the board.
2. it was not my choice to even deploy BBs in my network, it was up to the board. (i use windows mobile)

i believe if one is to use BBs in a company environment, BES is a necessity, but again it was not my choice.

but back to the original thread... would BBs work fine if i upgrade to microsoft exchange server 2007 without BES?

I think you skipped over reading some of this thread *cough* my previous post *cough* if you're still asking this question. ;-)

one of the current issues we have with exchange 2003 and no bes is that contacts lists (address book) and appointments (creation of new appts and inviting others) has been lost with the new service pack.

sorry my experience with BBs and BES and/or BIS is lacking... but i am learning from this website, posting, and the latest rim outages. thank you all for educating me.

yep... my bad.

so to re-ask my question:

Will upgrading to Exchange Server 2007 cause any loss of functionality (mainly email) in an environment using BIS?

Is this a trick question? I already answered this above. ;-)
"Hard to say. RIM has not yet certified BIS to work with OWA 2007 yet.
People here say it works fine, but it's not officially supported yet.
Chances are, you'll be OK."

Thanks but without any experience in this matter, i will wait for an answer from the "people" that use BIS and Exchange Server 2007.

I do not mean to be an ass, but I really need a definite answer and not a maybe.

I am the (experienced) people that use BIS with Exchange Server 2007.
I don't mean to be an ass either... but you're not listening to what I'm saying.

You're asking a question that cannot be answered with a definite.
RIM has not approved the use of BIS with Exchange Server 2007.
If it works for someone... great... but that does NOT mean it will work for you.

I'll answer your question a different way.
You asked if you would lose functionality if you upgraded to Exchange Server 2007.
Answer 1: Yes. You'll lose functionality if you can't get BIS to work at all... which might be the case.
Answer 2: No. It'll be the same as you have now, and BIS will work fine with Exchange Server 2007.

We don't know if your true answer will be #1 or #2. Only you can answer that once you do the upgrade to 2007.

If you want a real example... I have a Verizon BlackBerry Pearl 8130 in my hand right now. It has a BIS plan, and it's working fine via OWA on Exchange 2007 with SP1.

THANK YOU. That was the answer i was looking for and not a "people" response. My question is now answered. thanks and sorry.

You're welcome... and have nothing to be sorry about.