Research In Motion (RIM) has introduced the BlackBerry Management Centre for small businesses.
The free online service allows SMEs to centrally manage company or employee-owned BlackBerry handsets in the cloud - essentially acting as a “lite” version of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).
The Management Centre makes some of the functionality of BES more accessible to small business owners. The service is aimed at businesses with up to 100 BlackBerry smartphones that access e-mail services from an Internet service provider or Web-based mail service such as Gmail or Hotmail.
VP of enterprise product management for RIM Alan Panezic says: “BlackBerry Management Centre is a free service and an effective way to centrally manage and support employees' BlackBerry smartphones in the cloud.”
According to RIM, the new service will help minimise risk from lost or stolen handsets. The BlackBerry Management Centre wirelessly backs up the smartphones automatically in order to facilitate the recovery of lost business data stored on a handset.
In the event of a handset being stolen or lost, the service can be used to remotely lock it, or wipe its contents - including the microSD card. The service can then also restore settings and content on a replacement device.
Holding on
RIM's BES is a stalwart of the corporate world, and has been one of RIM's few remaining differentiators in an increasingly competitive smartphone market. In May, RIM announced plans to extend its BES architecture to support devices from rivals such as Apple and Android.
BlackBerry devices dominate the South African smartphone market, but RIM is feeling the pressure from its rivals. According to results of the BMI-TechKnowledge SA Smartphone and Tablet Early Adopter Study, only one in five current BlackBerry owners plan to stick with the brand for their next choice of smartphone.
However, Ryan Smit, digital consumer unit head at BMI-TechKnowledge, noted the release of the new BlackBerry 7 devices from RIM may well change consumers' attitude.
The Mobility 2011 study's brand momentum calculations showed a strong move towards smartphones, and BlackBerry in particular, with the number of users expected to increase by six times the current amount in SA.
At the time, 24% of the local mobile market claimed their next phone would be a BlackBerry. BlackBerry then accounted for 4% of the total mobile market, according to the study. A relatively small 3% of users said at the time that they planned to upgrade to an iPhone.
According to World Wide Worx, since the Mobility study was released in February, its forecasts have held true and BlackBerry remains the best-selling smartphone brand in SA.
The Management Centre became available yesterday, via the BlackBerry Web site.
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