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Has anyone here implemented a blackberry server (BES) at their organization? What do you feel are the benefits of going that route over the "web service" that they have? I'm interested in any insight you have.
We are an Exchange organization (Upgrade to 2003 coming soon). I think that's the most pertinent element to a general discussion, if you want or need more specifics let me know..
We have just recently upgraded our blackberry server to the 4.0 version. I would very much recommend the server path. Data gets sent encrypted and (with 4.0) the only reason to hook your blackberry to your computer is to charge it. It also integrates very easily with exchange 03.
Miq
Do you mean general integration, as in they play nice together, or that there is a deeper functionality gained?
I mean they play nice together. With the server based blackberry, your blackberries will get a new enterprise activation icon that you can do the initial setup and sync of everything wireless. Exchange neither gains or loses anything from the blackberry server. Just from what I have seen and used of the BES, it is easy to do and pretty much seemless.
Miq
I setup BES for our school system here. Contrary to most warnings it seems to run great even installed on the same server with Exchange 2000. The sql setup has some quirks to it. I have the sql database running on another system. Just follow the directions very closely and it should be fine. The performance is much faster than the web client and it will even direct the BB web browser thru your proxy which seems to make access faster due to caching. Be sure to call BES support as you add clients to have their pin# removed from the web client list so that your won't have trouble with duplicate e-mails. Also be sure that you uninstall the destop clients for each user as you add them for the same reason. BES also allows sync of the calender and task list from outlook which was one of the biggest selling points for us. You can also push some updates to the BB. And even "kill" a BB remotely if it is stolen, or misplaced. That way it can no longer receive info that might be restricted.
Interesting. Thanks for the input!
For the SQl portion does it require full SQL, or will it work with MSDE?
You can install it with an ms-access .mdb or SQL backend. We opted for the SQL for better stablity and scalablity. We already had several SQL servers so I just installed the DB on one of them. There seems to be no problem running the DB on a different system or BES on the Exchange box. I would hesitate to install SQL and exchange with BES on the same box because of the resource demands of both combined.
Here are some of the advantages to BES vs WEB:
1. COMPLETE Exchange synchronization - The WEB version of the software offers no exchange synch - you have to use the desktop client to sync your Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes - and you have no email sync, just a message sent to the handheld. The BES server supports advanced email features (meeting requests work correctly), email, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Tasks sync completely and correctly.
2. No need to synch - all the exchange features work over the air so there is no reason to sync again.
3. Wireless provisioning - Using BES 4.0 the blackberry can be provisioned for the BES server Over The Air (OTA) so a connection to the PC and the Blackberry software install is not neccessary (nor is a physical connection to the server - good for remote users)
4. Encryption - The BES supports encryption between the device and exchange server.
5. Corporate security policy - BES 4.0 supports security policies from the server - this is a big advantage in a secure environment.