With the release of the all new BlackBerry 10 Enterprise Server coming with the release of the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, current free BES Express licenses may not carry over. Small business owners that use the BlackBerry Enterprise Server service, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express 5 maybe the final free version.
The free BES Express 5 servers allows any configuration to support up to 2,000 users per server, but with the new changes to BlackBerry 10 the free licenses may go away.
When a legacy BlackBerry 7.1 or older version is retired and replaced with a BlackBerry 10 device, before there was not license cost to connect to Express, there will be charge to connect the new device to BES 10.
With the initial launch of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, BES 5+ will require its own server, while BlackBerry Device Service and Universal Device Service can reside on separate servers or be combined on the same physical or virtual server. Should you opt to work with virtual servers, RIM will fully support this type of deployment. Today, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion operates in a similar fashion, with BES 5+ requiring one server, and both BDS and UDS able to be deployed on a single server or on separate servers.
Research in Motion clarified that it will be necessary to install separate versions of BES: a version of BES 5 for BlackBerry 7.1 and older devices that are current available, and a version of BES 10 for the newer, yet to be released BlackBerry 10 devices.
The roadmap for BES 10 includes an upgrade currently scheduled for BlackBerry World in May 2013. This upgrade will consolidate BDS and UDS into a single component, and will allow for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and existing BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES 5.0.3+) to run on the same physical server; both seamlessly managed using a single fully featured management console. Additionally, with BES 10 there will no longer be a requirement to have the server connected to the same Local Area Network as the mail server. These developments will centralize mobility management into a single point and provide flexibility, convenience, and added functionality.
Stay tuned for further details on pricing, the path forward from a current BES 5 deployment, and details on IT policies and management configurations. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 will launch with the first BlackBerry 10 devices in early 2013.
With a possible payment for use of BES 10 small businesses may be shunned away from BlackBerry, lets hope RIM adopt a better way of implementing BES 10
Related posts:
- Maintenance Releases For BES v5.0.3 MR4 And BES Express 5.0.3 MR1, Includes Bug Fixes
- Released: BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 3 (BES v5.0.3)
- BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express v5.0.2
- RIM shares roadmap of BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10
- Google App Connector Updated to v.3.0 – Support BES Express
