RIM have published an IT Policy update for BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1.2 and later, allowing administrators to control some of the new functionality available in version 7.1 of the Smartphone operating system. This update does not apply to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express product.

New features include:

• Disable FM Radio
• Application Installation Methods
• Application Installation from Specific URLs Only
• SecureKey Browser Plug-in.
• IETF WebSocket Connections in Browser
• Override Hotspot APN Information

Problem

Your BlackBerry Smartphone has multiple "Desktop" address books listed, and you are not able to synchronise via the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.

Cause

This can be caused when a device is added, or re-added, to a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) under a new user account without first being security wiped to remove the previous owner's information.

Resolution

By default, when a user is added to the BES server only their Inbox and Sent Items folders will be synchronised. To enable the synchronisation of specific mailbox folders within the Administration web interface, do the following.

• Log into the Administration web site.
• Edit the properties of the target user.
• Scroll down and edit the Messaging Configuration setting:

  

BlackBerry Balance is a new feature from RIM designed to give administrators the control they need over BlackBerry devices connected to a corporate BES deployment, whilst simultaneously allowing users to enjoy the more personal capabilities of their devices, such as social networking services.

With the increasing trend for employees to own their Smartphones but use them for business purposes, the need to be able to secure corporate data without interfering with a user's personal content is a burgeoning one. It is this aspect of personal ownership of a business-capable device that RIM are addressing with Balance.

RIM have released two IT policies for the BlackBerry PlayBook for both BES 4 and BES 5. The policies available include:

• Use BlackBerry Bridge - the software that enables you to access your BES-enabled BlackBerry Smartphone via Bluetooth from your PlayBook and effectively use the PlayBook as a screen and keyboard for the phone to view, manage and respond to emails. Available values are yes and no.
  

The new Service Pack 3 release for BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 does not support the MDS Integration Service, which is no longer in production and has been phased out by RIM.
If your existing BES server has the MDS-IS role installed, it must be removed before you will be able to upgrade to Service Pack 3:

The Google Apps Connector for BES is a free application that enables you to integrate a BES server with the Premier or Education Google Apps services, enabling push-based bi-directional synchronisation of Email, Contacts and Calendar data between your Google mailbox and a BlackBerry smartphone.

I have detailed in a previous article how to install the Google Apps Connector for BES 4, using version 2 of the Connector.
Now in version 3, the Google Apps Connector now supports BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express.

As PDAs become increasingly powerful and the need to access and store larger amounts of data rises, so does the need to secure that data. When deploying mobile devices and granting users remote access to local network resources, be it email, an intranet site, file shares or specific line of business applications, the administrator needs to know that those devices are doing so securely, will automatically lock themselves if left unattended and can be remotely wiped if they are suspected of being lost or stolen.

In this article I shall look at the foremost products available today, in the author's opinion, as well as the features that should be considered when evaluating a device management solution. If you are interested in knowing more, or have any questions relating to any of the information in this article, call Brightpoint today on 0870 849 0225.

RIM have published two maintenance releases for the BES 5 software for download on the BlackBerry web site:

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 1 Maintenance Release 3 for Microsoft Exchange
  
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 Service Pack 1 Maintenance Release 2 for IBM Lotus Domino

The packages are available for download from http://www.blackberry.com/go/serverdownloads

These updates include bug fixes rather than any new functionality.

The Google Apps Connector for BES is a free application that enables you to integrate a BES server with the Premier or Education Google Apps services, enabling push-based bi-directional synchronisation of Email, Contacts and Calendar data between your Google mailbox and a BlackBerry smartphone.

NOTE this article was written using version 2 of the Google Apps Connector. For information on version 3 of the Apps Connector read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-google-apps-connector-blackbe...

Features

• Push email delivery
• Read / delete synchronisation
• Folder / label synchronisation
• Global Address lookup
• Calendar synchronisation
• Contacts synchronisation
• Hosting support - support multiple Google Apps domains on a single BES