RIM is all set to unveil its new BlackBerry 10 devices at the end of January, hopeful that they will make a splash among consumers. Despite that focus, the company hasn’t forgotten its core enterprise roots, and it launched its new BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) today.
The company first released details of the new system for businesses at the end of August, promising that it will launch in the first quarter of 2013, and it has delivered on its word. RIM is coming under increasing pressure for corporate customers from Apple and Samsung — which invested in enterprise-focused Fixmo this week — and its new enterprise service consolidates all of its services for business into one place, while also allowing easier management of non-BlackBerry devices.
RIM was the main target of a Samsung ad which aired this week and poked fun at the fact that many companies are limited to using BlackBerry devices for ‘work phones’. It has set out to address that and, while it has long had technologies allowing other devices to some elements of its enterprise service, it has made full access and management of multi-platform devices a central part of BES 10.
With BES 10, everything from the company’s mobile device management (MDM) to its security, infrastructure, and app management products come together into a “single unified web-based console.”
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Other key features that the company is stressing include application management for apps — both internal and public — via BlackBerry World for Work, improvements to over-the-air activation for devices and ‘enhanced’ IT policies.
BES is available on a 60-day trial without cost, while existing customer can upgrade their software through a range of packages.
RIM’s focus on content for BlackBerry 10 appears to be going well and its final Port-A-Thon to encourage developers to port iOS and Android apps to the platform saw more than 19,000 submissions last weekend. That volume has forced the Canadian firm to push back the deadlines for its developer incentive programs.
This walk-through shows the BES 10 product working, and includes it being set up with a BlackBerry 10 alpha device.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Umeta3OhVe4
Headline image via Honou
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