BlackBerry Enterprise Server Features

Get the tools you need to manage the BlackBerry solution

BlackBerry Enterprise Server offers advanced management and support functionality for IT administrators. It is designed to help you improve IT productivity, simplify deployments and upgrades and maximise uptime.

Centralised management
The BlackBerry® Administration Service¹ is a web-based console that provides access to do the following:

• Deploy and manage applications
• Schedule device, application and IT policy updates
• Update BlackBerry® Device Software wirelessly
• Manage user settings and control groups with over 450 IT policies

With the BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 2, you'll also get seamless access with the single sign-on feature. This feature provides integrated authentication for the BlackBerry Web Desktop Manager and BlackBerry Administration Service.

Learn about the BlackBerry® Web Desktop Manager (PDF)

The following activities are available with BlackBerry Enterprise Server only (not with BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express):

• Set up and manage the high availability architecture
• Wirelessly deploy BlackBerry® smartphones
• Set custom administration roles

Facilitated end-user migration
When you’re ready to implement BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 into your environment, the BlackBerry® Enterprise Transporter allows for seamless migration of users without requiring end-user intervention.

Self-service tools
In the BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 2, new self-service tools have been added to the BlackBerry Web Desktop Manager to reduce the time spent on common administrative tasks. When you enable these tools, users will have expanded capabilities to manage their own smartphones, including remotely setting a new password, locking their BlackBerry smartphone if it's lost or stolen and securing a lost smartphone.

Proactive monitoring
Monitor the overall health of your solution with scalable monitoring capabilities and features. Reporting, alerting and troubleshooting help minimise potential issues and data graphing helps to gain visibility into the health of your solution.

High availability
The built-in high availability architecture enables fast recovery from unplanned downtime of core BlackBerry Enterprise Server components. When health metrics set by the BlackBerry administrator are exceeded, the system is designed to automatically failover to the standby components.

The high availability option has the flexibility of being deployed on physical and virtual servers (specifically VMware®).

• Read the high availability white paper (PDF)
• Read the high availability brochure (PDF) 

• Get more reporting and management features with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Resource Kit
• Get pricing and purchasing information for BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Keep your information secure

BlackBerry Enterprise Server is designed to provide peace of mind in mission critical environments. It provides controls and advanced security to help you stay confident that sensitive information is transmitted in a highly protected environment.

Independent security certifications
BlackBerry solutions have received more security accreditations globally than any other wireless solution. Because of these security certifications, you can rest assured you’re taking on minimal risk.

• Learn about BlackBerry solution security

Encryption
Data transmitted between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry smartphones is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or Triple Data Encryption Standard (Triple DES).

Digitally signed attachments
BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 3 extends secure email to include digitally signed attachments. This conforms to the requirements of highly secure organisations.

Flexible security architecture
For implementations requiring additional security, PGP®, S/MIME and PGP/MIME are also supported. Over 450 IT policies further support the needs of your business by providing wirelessly adjustable security levels and capabilities that include the following:

• Impose a device lock-down
• Wipe data from a lost or stolen device
• Wirelessly enforce security settings such as Bluetooth® lockout

Built-in protection against malware
While desktop computers easily accommodate anti-virus software, wireless devices are often constrained by memory, processing power and battery life.

One approach to protect against malware on mobile devices is to proactively prevent them from loading or running unauthorised code. BlackBerry Enterprise Server uses this approach to give system administrators the ability to perform the following actions:

• Specify exactly which applications are permitted on the device
• Prevent third-party applications from using persistent storage on the device
• Determine which resources third-party applications can access on the device
• Restrict the types of connections a third-party application running on the device can establish
• Block all third-party applications from loading onto and running on the device

Additional security products
Create a two-factor authenticated environment to give access to BlackBerry smartphone and PKI applications with the BlackBerry® Smart Card Reader.
 

• Get pricing and purchasing information for BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Create and manage applications for your business

Help reduce the time and resources needed to develop, deploy and manage wireless applications with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. It offers the following features and functionality:

• IT policies to control which applications users can access
• An end-to-end authenticated, outbound-initiated connection that encrypts data
• Push services to provide automatic delivery of data
• Centralised administration console to manage all aspects of the software, including server components, users and application settings
• The ability to deploy applications over-the-air (OTA)
• An improved programmable entry point into BlackBerry Enterprise Server provides faster development and maintenance of applications. The intuitive, backwards compatible and extensible interface enables developers and customers to develop standard integrations with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and custom integrations with other databases.

Protect your investment by ensuring technologies and systems are reusable, helping you save time and money by reducing development time and complexity.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Applications
If your business needs don’t include extending email out to mobile users, there is also BlackBerry software for extending only applications.

• Learn about BlackBerry Enterprise Server for MDS Applications
   

White papers

• Going Mobile: Developing an application mobilization plan for your business (PDF)
• Going Mobile: Developing an Effective Corporate Mobile Policy (PDF)

Developer tools

• Discover the latest developer tools

Available applications

• Lotus software on BlackBerry smartphones
• Visit BlackBerry App World

• Get pricing and purchasing information for BlackBerry Enterprise Server