RIM Releases BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

The latest version of RIM’s mobile management platform, BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) 10, is now available for download ahead of the launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system later this month.

The Canadian manufacturer claims that BES 10 brings together mobile device management, security and mobile application management into one consolidated solution for managing BlackBerry, Android and iOS devices in an enterprise environment. BES 10 has inherited the functions of BlackBerry Enterprise Server, the standalone software product.

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

“BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 empowers employees to be more productive and better equipped to serve customers while it provides business and IT leaders with the confidence that corporate data is protected and the manageability that CIOs and IT departments have long enjoyed with BlackBerry,” said Peter Devenyi, senior vice president, Enterprise Software, RIM. “BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 makes mobility easy for businesses to help keep them moving.”

BES 10 supports both corporate and BYOD deployments as well as mixed environments of devices running different platforms. It will work closely with BlackBerry 10 smartphones, including support for BlackBerry Balance, which sepearates personal and work data and applications, as well as providing secure access to work email, content, and secure connectivity to ‘behind the firewall’ applications and data.

Administrators will have access to BlackBerry World for Work, allowing them to push and install applications to corporate and personal-owned devices and publish recommended applications to employees.

Enterprise focus

They will also be able to manage work profiles, implement enrolment processes for employees and have access to centralised controls of assignable profiles for email, SCEP, Wi-Fi, VPN and proxy servers.

The perpetually delayed BlackBerry 10 operating system is seen as vital to RIM’s future after seeing its share of the smartphone market eroded by rivals such as Apple and Samsung. The first smartphones running the platform are due to be unveiled later this month.

RIM has been keen to retain its enterprise customers ahead of the launch, offering incentive programmes and acquiring FIPS 140-2 security certification from the US government.

The company remains optimistic that BlackBerry 10 can revive its fortunes. Jeff Holleran, senior director of enterprise products at RIM, told TechWeekEurope that it would offer administrators “a set of tools that don’t exist on any other platform.”

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