Free BlackBerry Enterprise Server for SMBs launched today

BlackBerry

Research in Motion (RIM) has made an Express version of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) available to download from today.

The new, free tool is likely to appeal to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who want to connect and sync their mobile devices just like the bigger players do, but perhaps lack the necessary funds to turn that vision into reality.

Available now, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express will synchronise -wirelessly and securely -a company's BlackBerry handsets with Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, according to RIM.

"Today we are announcing an exciting new offering that further expands the market opportunity for the BlackBerry platform," Mike Lazaridis, RIM's president and co-chief executive, said in a statement when the new tool was announced last month.

He added: "In a marketplace where smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express significantly raises the bar by providing a cost-effective solution that allows companies of all sizes to support enterprise-grade mobile connectivity for all employees without compromising security or manageability."

Maggie Holland

Maggie has been a journalist since 1999, starting her career as an editorial assistant on then-weekly magazine Computing, before working her way up to senior reporter level. In 2006, just weeks before ITPro was launched, Maggie joined Dennis Publishing as a reporter. Having worked her way up to editor of ITPro, she was appointed group editor of CloudPro and ITPro in April 2012. She became the editorial director and took responsibility for ChannelPro, in 2016.

Her areas of particular interest, aside from cloud, include management and C-level issues, the business value of technology, green and environmental issues and careers to name but a few.