May 4th, 2009
RIM rolls out latest BlackBerry Enterprise Server
RIM on Monday said its latest enterprise server was available and detailed a strategic alliance with Hewlett-Packard.
As expected, RIM rolled out its BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0. The latest version offers more IT administration controls and integrates RIM push technology with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell Groupwise. RIM’s latest effort also focuses on role-based controls, identifying “disallowed” applications and scheduling deployments.
Although RIM gets most of the attention for its handsets, the back-end server business isn’t paltry.
On RIM’s latest earnings conference call, RIM co-CEO James Balsillie said:
This is the most powerful version of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server ever and we believe it will further cement RIM’s leadership position in the enterprise markets.
See TechRepublic: BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 ups the ante for enterprise smartphone management
10 steps to a sweet BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) deployment
Separately, RIM and HP announced a broad strategic pact. RIM and HP said they will collaborate on a number of features. The first effort is HP CloudPrint for BlackBerry, which allows users to print to any printer anywhere. The service finds local printers. Another item is HP software that centrally monitors and manages BlackBerry deployments.
In another announcement, RIM said it has rolled out a new API for its push technology.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Smart Planet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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