BES 10.2 Adds Improved Support For Android And iOS Devices

BlackBerry has improved support for Android and iOS devices in the latest version of BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) 10, claiming its customers have now installed 30,000 commercial and test servers.

Version 10.2 of the mobile device management (MDM) platform, or enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution as BlackBerry likes to call it, adds enhanced support for Android and iOS BYOD by allowing admins to manage Secure Work Space containers, while the feature is now compatible with iOS 7’s email background sync.

Other cross-platform improvements include the ability for admins to create new distribution rules for the latest versions of iOS and Android, meaning they can support virtually any device without requiring a server upgrade.

BES 10 testing

A new self-service portal enables employees to perform tasks on their own, meaning fewer calls to IT departments, while BES10 now easily scales to 100,000 devices, reducing the number of servers required and making it cheaper to run.

BlackBerry says the new version is being tested by a number of customers, including Morgan Stanley and Boeing, as part of its ‘early adopter’ and beta programmes.

“We enable any organisation or government agency to manage iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices without compromising security,” said Stephen Bates, Head of the enterprise business unit at BlackBerry. “No other mobile vendor has the same level of trusted and proven security as BlackBerry.

“We’ve achieved this with an end-to-end multi-platform solution that’s secured at the device, server and network layer. And now BES10 version 10.2 provides even more tools to help manage BYOD environments and achieve cost efficiencies.”

The struggling Canadian manufacturer is looking towards the enterprise to offer it a lifeline, with new CEO John Chen declaring in an open letter that reports of the company’s demise had been “greatly exaggerated” by competitors eager to increase their share of the mobility market at BlackBerry’s expense.

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