Good news at last for any Blackberry fans that may be a little fed-up with the high price of the service.
Blackberry have been struggling of late in the SME marketplace, leaving companies using Microsoft Exchange with a thorny problem:
The choice was to either settle for the cheap BIS service, which syncs only email, but not calendar, contacts or tasks; or to spend a fortune on BES Cals and enterprise service plans – (which can be as much as £25 pcm per device on top of the standard service.)
Fortunately, with both Windows Mobile & Iphone offering a full exchange sync effectively free, Blackberry have been persuaded to introduce a more competitive product.
The new Blackberry express is a no-cost server product for Microsoft Exchange – it requires no license fees, no CALS, and best of all, no enterprise data plans. It enables a full Exchange sync with the basic Blackberry Internet service. Email, Calendar, Contacts & tasks.
There are a couple of gotchas – enterprise activation wont work on a bis provisioned device – it must be activated by a cable. As a one-off though, it’s not too much of a hardship. Fewer policies can be defined – though still ample for most IT departments.
This brings Blackberry back from the dead as a strong competitor to Windows Mobile and Iphones in the SME marketplace.
If you are already using the Enterprise service on several handsets, it’s unlikely Vodafone or Tmobile are going to call and tell you about the cost savings to be had. RSCC can offer installation and support packages for Bes Express – why not give us a call to see how much you can save?