Mobile WorkHorse
About this Blog: Al Sacco writes about (and drools over) anything and everything mobile or wireless as it applies to the global workforce--with a focus on BlackBerry smartphones
RIM Details BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 5.0.3 Features; Launch "Very, Very Soon"
RIM will release BES 5.0.3 in "early 2011," and the company announced specifics on the software with a number of new features.
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) on Thursday officially announced details of its upcoming BlackBerry Enterprise Server update, BES v5.0 Service Pack 3, aka, BES 5.0.3, and the new enterprise software should be available "very, very soon," according to RIM's Pete Devenyi, VP, Communications Platform Group.
RIM Slide With Info on BlackBerry Balance
Speaking at a Business on BlackBerry press and analyst event in Boston, Devenyi said BES 5.0.3 will be available in early 2011. And the RIM VP also announced details on BES 5.0.3.
Back in October, I posted leaked RIM documents with the first official information on BES 5.0.3, and many of Devenyi's announcements are in line with the BES 5.0.3 details I shared. But Devenyi also offered information on a few new features I missed. More specifically, Devenyi touted a new BES 5.0.3 feature meant to help administrators manage employee-owned BlackBerry smartphones, called "BlackBerry Balance."
BlackBerry Balance offers BES admins full support for employee-owned BlackBerry smartphones at work, according to RIM. Specifically, BlackBerry Balance can delete only work data or applications from an employee-owned device, without affecting any personal data—admins can still perform a full wipe, if necessary. And BlackBerry Balance can remove all corporate IT policies from users' smartphones.
BlackBerry Balance also offers new safeguards to prevent users from cutting/copying/pasting/etc. work data into personal applications or BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) personal Web mail. Warnings can be activated to caution users whenever they're about to send e-mail or calendar invites outside of the company domain. Admins can prevent device backups, to protect potentially sensitive data, and they can control and encrypt work data stored on a media card. Finally, organizations can use BlackBerry Balance to prevent access to corporate data via third-party apps.
Additional noteworthy features in BES 5.0.3 include:
- encrypted attachment support
- Certification with Microsoft OCS 2007 RC2 and Microsoft Lync 2010
- Support for assigning Wi-Fi and VPN to groups of users
- Sortable columns with export capability in BlackBerry Administration Service
Check out my earlier, related post on the subject, "BlackBerry Admins Share Best BES 5.0.3 Features" And additional information on BES 5.0.3 should be available shortly on RIM's website.
AS
Al Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline. Email Al at ASacco@CIO.com.
Previous Post: BlackBerry in Indonesia: Censorship Slope a Slippery OneNext Post: Why BlackBerry PlayBook May Be "Totally Useless for Enterprise"
Most Discussed Posts
Today's Business Intelligence (BI) tools provide a new way to think about data with self-service capabilities and user-friendly analytics that can be used by nearly everyone.
Learn the key selection criteria required to provide your organization with the capability to address structured data, unstructured data and mobile demands so that employees can view and manipulate data on their own, from virtually any location.
Big data is less about the terabytes and more about the query tools and business intelligence needed to make sense of massive amounts of data.
Many organizations are currently seeking to adopt DevOps because of the promise it holds for enabling them to respond rapidly to marke changes, with higher quality and reduced cost.
The challenges of consumer-facing identity management, access management, and authentication differ in ways subtle and dramatic from those of the employee-facing variety.
The "DevOps" term is used to describe the process of managing the handoffs necessary for Development and Operations teams to work in a collaborative manner.
Join us on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT and learn how your agency can create an analytics culture that will enable you to improve budgeting and financial reporting. Learn More.
Technology is now intertwined with nearly every aspect of business. Information technology is not only pervasive; it is fast becoming a primary driver of market differentiation, business growth, and profitability.
Leading analyst, Storage Switzerland learns how Sepaton backs up and deduplicates massive data volumes while maintaining the industry's fastest performance - all in one system. Learn more!
Security. Scalability. Control. These are just some of the many benefits of enterprise cloud file-sharing that you'll discover in this KnowledgeVault, packed with short videos, white papers and demos.
For organizations looking to start a content analytics program or improve their existing capabilities, Aberdeen Group and IBM will lay out several recommendations on how to become a best-in-class customer service organization.
Register now to listen to this video whitepaper and to learn more about the components of content analytics applications, emerging best practices, and the issues to consider before deploying content analytics technologies.
Sponsored Links
