RIM Introduces BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express
 

Free New BlackBerry Software for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Allows Companies to Empower All Employees with Wireless Access to Their Corporate Email Without Compromising Security or Manageability

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express - free new server software that wirelessly and securely synchronizes BlackBerry® smartphones with Microsoft® Exchange or Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server.

The new BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software will be provided free of charge in order to address two key market opportunities. First, the software offers economical advantages to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that desire the enterprise-grade security and manageability of BlackBerry® Enterprise Server but don’t require all of its advanced features. Second, more and more consumers are purchasing BlackBerry smartphones and the free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software provides a cost-effective solution that enables IT departments to meet the growing demand from employees to be able to connect their personal BlackBerry smartphones to their work email.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express works with Microsoft Exchange 2010, 2007 and 2003 and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 and 2003 to provide users with secure, push-based, wireless access to email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks, as well as other business applications and enterprise systems behind the firewall. Importantly, the new server software utilizes the same robust security architecture found in BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

"Today we are announcing an exciting new offering that further expands the market opportunity for the BlackBerry platform," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “In a marketplace where smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express significantly raises the bar by providing a cost-effective solution that allows companies of all sizes to support enterprise-grade mobile connectivity for all employees without compromising security or manageability.”

With BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express connected to Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, BlackBerry smartphone users will be able to:

Wirelessly synchronize their email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks
Manage email folders and search email on the mail server remotely
Book meetings and appointments, check availability and forward calendar attachments
Set an out-of-office reply
Edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using Documents To Go®
Access files stored on the company network
Use mobile applications to access business systems behind the firewall
For IT administrators, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express also offers the following:

Runs on the same physical or virtual server as the Microsoft mail server or on its own server. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is also certified for use with VMware ESX
Over 35 IT controls and policies, including the ability to remotely wipe a smartphone and enforce and reset passwords
A Web-based interface that allows remote administration and makes it easy to install the software, connect BlackBerry smartphones and apply usage policies

Source

BIS/BES Express at same time?
 

So does anyone know if it's possible to connect to a work BES Express AND and personal BIS on the same device (Bold 9700)?

Cheers,

Thinqer

Yes.

How many users will the free version support ?

75 users if installed on the Exchange Server.
2000+ users if installed on a dedicated server.

Does this mean you can finally install BES on the *same* server as Exchange?

At the moment, I pay o2 here in the UK about £40 for a one-off CAL each time I add a user. (BES on a small dedicated server, Exchange 2003) ... (we only have about 40 users)

Are we now saying that the CAL is now free as well ?

I'm a little confused if not, because I've already got a 'free' server (4.1) from RIM already ... maybe it's because i'm running the smaller 'up to 75 users' edition .. and this is big new for the 20,000 user sites.

So, from my point of view, SME, I'm probably being very stupid - but i'm not getting the big benefit.

S.S.

No, you can install BES Express on the Exchange server. It's basically the new iteration of BPS.

BES still needs to be on its own server. They're two different products.

Yes, the CALs for BES Express are free.
In addition, you only need a BIS data plan to use it. You no longer need the more expensive enterprise data plan provisioned on the devices.

It will be interesting to see what the IT policies are.

This is huge news for the SMB.

Will also be interesting to see if it changes T-Support pricing at all.

Thank you Penguin3107 - I get it ... this is pretty cool - BIS cost about £8 a month on o2, Enterprise about £40 ! ...

... this is pretty big news and hopefully will give us big savings when it comes out.

Thanks,

S.S.

Any idea what the downside for migrating from BPS (with purchased CALs) to the new iteration might be? Almost sounds too good to be true.

That is great news! Verizon wants an additional $15/m for BES vs BIS.

On top of $30-45 for Blackberry service... yum.

No, not on top of it.
BIS plan is $30
BES plan is $45
(Verizon/Average)

That person is indicating that you no longer need to pay $15 more for the Enterprise plan because the $30 personal plan will do just fine for BES Express.

Please forgive the stupid question but..
The requirements for BESExpress are:
Any of the following operating systems:
xxx8226; Windows Server® 2003 SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
xxx8226; Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
xxx8226; Windows Server 2008 SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
xxx8226; Windows® Small Business Server 2003
xxx8226; Windows Small Business Server 2008

Is Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) that different from Windows Server 2008 SP2 (64-bit)? Isn't that the server "standard" now?

Yes, it is that different. Kinda like the difference between Vista and W7.

Stuff may work, but RIM likely has not finished testing yet.

FYI, the software is available for download. Well I placed my order, now I am waiting for the final email to come. But the "email me with updates" button is now "Download Now".

I'm also still waiting for the email. Been almost 24 hours and still nothing. Not sure what's going on here.

Pritesh

Please forgive the stupid question, I did read the system requirements. Does anyone think that it will run on WinXP workstation with the Outlook client installed?

No.

The Outlook MAPI client is different than the server MAPI client.

I have a few questions myself. I've been wanting some features that are available with BES 5.0 but I'm still using a 4.1 version.

User CALs is not a factor, nor is whether it should be on a separate server, as I have both to play with.

I need to view public folders, do attachents, and most of all need to be able to see contacts in more than one contact list. I know I can search my GAL with the lookup feature, but I need to know a little more.

Will it actually display each contact list? I have 2 in public folders for us and a second company. Or will it search each one using Lookup still?

It's free and I'm wondering if any options will be available in 4.1x that aren't in this Express version. I don't want to lose anything, only gain a few much needed features.

And can I run 4.1 on one server and do a fresh install on another server at the same time? I noticed I can't migrate from 4.1 to 5.0 Express. Are there any other things I need to consider if I were planning to move away from 4.1 to Express?

Thanks...gonna keep on reading while I'm in here.