RIM Blackberry Enterprise Server 3.6.1: real-time wireless e-mail and mobile applications in one package.

I've often said that the killer apps for wireless data are the applications people are already using. Although there are many wireless corporate data access products on the market today, e-mail and messaging--Short Message Service (SMS) and interactive instant messaging such as AOL Instant Messenger--are the dominant mobile applications. And, no company dominates corporate wireless e-mail and messaging like Research in Motion (RIM). In a survey my company conducted in 2003, we found more than 90 percent of corporate wireless e-mail solutions in large companies are RIM solutions. These solutions are deployed and managed by IT departments (as compared to PDA purchases by individuals) in enterprises with more than 5,000 employees.

Faster, stronger--better than before

Research in Motion Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) 3.6.1 builds on RIM's core competencies and adds major new functionality for mobile applications that puts RIM on equal footing with mobile data solutions outside the wireless e-mail arena. At the same time, RIM's latest devices run on more wireless networks than ever before and provide excellent integration with SMS on GSM wireless networks.

RIM's historical weakness has been a relative lack of developers for its device operating system platform compared with the Macintosh-like fanaticism of the Palm OS development community or Microsoft's elaborate Pocket PC development platform (which, at last count, occupied no less than eight Microsoft Developer Network CDs). BES 3.6.1 blows past the limitations of earlier versions with a mobile browser development solution that lets enterprises wirelessly enable corporate applications and data, such as inventory information or sales orders. At the same time, RIM has assembled an expanding array of third-party applications and solutions that deliver customer relationship management (CRM), sales force automation (SFA), and other corporate applications to RIM handheld users.

In recent versions of BES, RIM improved product stability and reliability to meet the challenges of new competitors such as Good Technology, whose Good-Link server offers more flexible device support. RIM's plans for Palm OS device support in future releases will address another competitive issue. Major new functionality, improvements in reliability, support for more wireless networks, better devices, and future support for Palm OS devices have gone a long way toward remo-ving the motivation to switch.

True ease of administration

From an IT administration standpoint, routine user administration is deliriously simple, particularly for experienced Microsoft Windows and Exchange system administrators; the ability to import large numbers of users from structured text files doesn't hurt, either. BES 3.6.1's tight integration with Exchange and Active Directory makes it a logical and intuitive extension of Exchange. Administrators simply enable users to access Exchange servers with RIM devices--the rest is handled through a highly automated client/device setup process at the user's workstation and by RIM's Internet-based messaging service.

Another impressive administrative feature is BES 3.6.1's implementation of IT policies as a security-centric framework for managing devices and users (figure 1). The simple user interface is deceptive because the available options--e.g., Force Lock When Holstered--give IT departments tight control. RIM is a clear leader in the security area because it controls the device platforms as well as the server, whereas most other vendors focus on one or the other. Server products that work with multiple devices, such as GoodLink and JP Mobile Sure-Wave Enterprise Server may be secure; but, because the software makers don't control all the device platforms, they simply can't offer IT departments the same granular, centralized control over devices and device configurations. Of course it's a trade-off. RIM can't offer the same functionality and level of control with a broad choice of devices--and it can be mighty difficult to get the CEO to throw away his or her Palm or Pocket PC device.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

BES 3.6.1 offers integration of Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which lets IT departments plug BES into existing monitoring systems. RIM lets you access SNMP statistics, but stops short of storing cumulative data in a SQL database and providing pre-built reports.

RIM's end-to-end security model uses a combination of Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption technology, desktop utilities, and nation-wide wireless networks to provide a secure messaging network. Additionally, RIM supports the S/MIME industry standard, and consequently Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) e-mail security solutions using X.509 digital certificates.

Security for the Mobile Data Service, however, is another story. RIM is not able to solve potential problems in Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) security, i.e., the "WAP gap," between the wireless network's security technology called Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) and the HTTP communication from the mobile operator's network (where the WAP gateway is normally located) and the corporate network. The implication is you have to trust the mobile operator with your corporate data. Even if you can enforce Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) between the corporate network and the mobile operator's WAP gateway, traffic between wireless devices and WAP gateways (WTLS encryption) must be decrypted and then re-encrypted (via SSL) for passage over the Internet.

Wireless application server

BES 3.6.1 includes two major types of functionality: wireless messaging and wireless applications. The Mobile Data Service is a back-end server, but it delivers corporate data and applications to the user on RIM handhelds. Essentially, RIM has added a wireless Web server supporting Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and inserted a WAP-based browser into RIM handhelds. The latest RIM handhelds support Java 2 Mobile Edition (J2ME) which lets RIM devices download and run mobile lava applications (MIDlets) in the same way you can on the latest mobile phones. The wireless application server capability in BES 3.6.1 lets corporate developers and integrators using J2ME or WAP expose virtually any type of server application or data, via Wireless Markup Language (WML), for access via mobile devices.

Desktop and handheld improvements

BES 3.6.1 together with the Blackberry Desktop Manager 3.6.1 desktop software and the RIM Handheld Software provide a number of new features. The most significant new user feature is integrated attachment viewing. The attachment feature lets users view Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, Adobe PDF, and ASCII text files on their RIM handhelds. Another important new feature lets users wirelessly look up addresses in the Microsoft Exchange Global Address List (GAL). In earlier versions, BES didn't give users a way to wirelessly synchronize e-mail messages with their Exchange mailboxes. BES 3.6.1 solves this problem with support for read/unread status, deletions, and the ability to file messages in folders.

Poor server installation process

Although my writing motto is "be equally critical of all vendors," I might as well say it: I love this product. Notwithstanding my staunch refusal to give up my beloved Handspring Prism and now antiquated OmniSky wireless modem, BES 3.6.1 and the latest GSM-based RIM handhelds are simply the most impressive corporate wireless e-mail and messaging (SMS and interactive instant messaging) solution I've used. However, that doesn't mean it's perfect.

The biggest problem with the product is a complicated installation process that's made worse by cryptic error messages. Each error code seemed to have about a dozen possible causes and solutions, none of which were applicable to my situation; not to mention there's almost no explanation in the documentation of the apparently senseless configuration requirements --requirements the installer probably could have handled automat- ically. The lack of automation in the installation process is astonishing. My guess at an explanation is that the functionality in BES 3.6.1 probably began life as a number of disparate development efforts /products, and the installer is the equivalent of a bunch of Post-It notes strung together.

Although I'm obligated to criticize RIM for having the most primitive installer since the first macro assembler, I have to add that RIM's technical support is very good. So if you're an IT staffer and can't get the BES Mobile Data Service to talk to your SQL server, don't waste your time--just pick up the telephone.

Server hardware requirements

Another consideration before deploying BES 3.6.1 is that the server overhead is substantial. The manual states that the server will run on a single 500MHz Pentium III chip with 256MB RAM and 1GB free disk space. I suppose that's technically true, assuming there are no actual users and that a very patient person is performing the installation and administration.

The reality is you're dealing with three different servers: the basic BES e-mail server, the new Attachment Server (figure 2), and the new Mobile Data Server. There are also new capabilities such as real-time GAL lookups and mailbox synchronization over wireless sessions. Clearly, scaling up to a large number of users (e.g., 1,000) will take a lot of hardware. The bottom line is you aren't going to be able to throw this on top of your Exchange or SQL database server without a performance hit.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Upshot

RIM is already the recognized leader in corporate wireless e-mail and messaging solutions, and with BES 3.6.1, it's prepared to go head-to-head with providers of mobile data applications and services outside the messaging space. Together with its third-party applications and partners, RIM is clearly positioned to dominate much more than corporate wireless e-mail.

Although economic conditions in the U.S. and delays in the deployment of high-speed wireless data networks have put a damper on the mobile data market, it will eventually rebound. RIM has collected an impressive arsenal of weapons for the coming competitive marketplace.

Research in Motion http://www.blackberry.com

Blackberry Enterprise Server 3.6.1 US$4,999 per server

BUSINESS BENEFITS

Real-time wireless messaging, support for mobile applications, and easy administration make Blackberry Enterprise Server a solution to consider.

* Centralized control of devices and security

* Intuitive user administration

* Functions as an extension of Exchange Server

* Supports Microsoft Active Directory

* Great for e-mail, instant messaging, and SMS

* Easy desktop installation and configuration

* Server installation

* Documentation

* Server resource utilization

* Reporting

Ron Herardian is chief technology architect for Global System Services Corporation, a consulting firm that specializes in e-mail and groupware including mobile and wireless solutions, [e-mail].