Minimum OS for BESX

[Aero247]

I've been trying to get our IT company to update our Blackberry server to the latest version so that we can get HTML e-mails for almost three years now. I've been given a variety of excuses as to why we can't do it, most of them being "It's not as simple as you think."

I have finally gotten them to look into the BESX server and they now want to charge us anywhere between $3k-$5k to install it. The amount seems absurd for a free piece of software. They said one of the most time consuming processes during the update is to upgrade everyone's blackberry to OS 5.0. I believe that doesn't NEED to be done for the devices to be able to sync up with the server. It only needs to be done to get the remote file access. I work with a lot of un-tech savy people and the remote file access would only be used be a few people. They are saying anyone's BB that can't get OS 5.0 needs to be replaced. My question is, is there a minimum OS requirement that the BBs need to have to sync to BESX or are they just flat wrong?

We purchased a new BB server last year when the old one went on the fritz and I'm not quite sure why we aren't just updating that one with the latest service packs. I was searching the forums and it looks like we may have Blackberry Professional - we have about 15 users - which would then make sense as to why we can't just update it. It doesn't make sense as to why we paid for something that was free and incredible outdated in 2009.

I'm sorry for being somewhat vague and not having full details in this post but I'm just working with the information that I have. I'm the most tech savy person in my company and I'm not allowed to talk to the IT company that we outsource are needs with. Trust me, it's very frustrating.

One last question, about how much time would be needed to remove a BES Professional install and then install BESX and activating about 15 handsets? A few hours? All day?

[TheScionicMan]

The box you were running BB Pro on seems like it would work for BESX. I don't see any minimum requirements for handheld OSes. Uninstall is pretty simple, installation depends on your comfort level but its not really that complicated as long as you follow the steps fully. Activation depends on how you do it. You can create a password and activate each one, or you can also generate an email with a password that gets sent to the user if you think they can do an EA on their own.

If all goes smoothly, I could see it taking about a half day, maybe more if you're new to the BES environment, but even then maybe a day.

[CanuckBB]

There is no minimum device OS specified. I'd speculate that anything running 4.2 and higher would be good to go. You could even install it on your Exchange server, freeing up your current BES server for other work.

It takes a couple of hours to install, then you have to deal with activations. And if OTA activation is not a requirement, you can even drop BES from your data plan.

[Aero247]

Thanks for the quick replies.

For the OTA activation, does that mean we wouldn't be able to do the enterprise activation directly from the phone? We'd have to hook it up to the computer? Would we lose any other features from switching the data plans? I'm all about saving us $15 a month per device.

[CanuckBB]

That is correct. BESX can do wired activation on a BIS only phone. You could potentially drop the BES plan for any BB that regularly resides in the office.

You lose, I believe, MDS. And the list of IT policies is far shorter. There are some decent feature comparison charts on blackberry.com.

[Aero247]

Thanks for clarifying.

We are a small Public Relations agency so we don't need every bell and whistle. I think BESX would be perfect for us.

Now I just need to tell the IT company that we aren't going to pay $5,000 for them to install it.

[Rh1noo]

If you know the BESAdmin account password I could do the work for your remotely at a much smaller cost. I've done more than 3000 upgrades over the past 5 years so you won't find anyone much more qualified. I will do the work first, if your happy you can paypal me.

[Aero247]

I appreciate the offer but know my company isn't going to let me hire someone remotely.

[CanuckBB]

Your IT consultants should be able to do that in a day. Less than $1,500. I'd have then install ON the Exchange server. And keep the existing BES on. That way YOU can start migrating the users one by one.

[TheScionicMan]

There is no migration path from BPS to BESX. You have to backup the device, delete them from the old server, wipe the device and then set up a new account on the BESX and activate. Then you can restore the old stuff that you need to the device. I guess having them both up could save a little downtime for individual users as you did the move, but it seems to me it would be more efficient to just delete them all at once, uninstall/install and then add them all at once. It's only 15 accounts, but I guess it also depends on how addicted your users are to their BBs.

[Aero247]

I was reading on the forums that you can just delete the Desktop Service Books and have them resent instead of wiping the whole device. Has anyone tried that?

It may be easiest for everyone here if they installed BESX before uninstalling the BPS. I didn't know that they could be run simultaneously.

[TheScionicMan]

Originally Posted by Aero247

I was reading on the forums that you can just delete the Desktop Service Books and have them resent instead of wiping the whole device. Has anyone tried that?

It may be easiest for everyone here if they installed BESX before uninstalling the BPS. I didn't know that they could be run simultaneously.

To what device do you tell the new server to send the service books? The BESX will not have any hardware devices associated with the new accounts you just set up. I've never done it so I could be wrong but it doesn't make sense.

[CanuckBB]

Originally Posted by Aero247

I was reading on the forums that you can just delete the Desktop Service Books and have them resent instead of wiping the whole device. Has anyone tried that?

It may be easiest for everyone here if they installed BESX before uninstalling the BPS. I didn't know that they could be run simultaneously.

No, you still have to EA.

Both BPS and BESX ca co-exist, just not on the same server.