What do you think about Blackberry Balance?

Research In Motion aims to keep its dominance of the corporate smartphone market by enabling the BlackBerry to segregate a user's personal data from work-related emails and other applications sponsored by employers.


A senior RIM executive says the company would soon introduce software that would effectively give users two phones in one. It's part of RIM's strategy to arrest a steady erosion of its leadership in the corporate segment as Apple's iPhone and other consumer-friendly devices make inroads.

Many corporations are now allowing employees to use their own smartphones at work, forcing IT departments to manage confidential information on the iPhone and devices running on Google's Android operating system.

But those devices are not equipped with the security and system features that have long given the BlackBerry an edge among corporations and other organizations that put a high value on confidentiality and control.

"There are two fundamental use cases on the smartphone - enterprise and personal. The problem is that they are conflicting," said Jeff McDowell, RIM's senior vice-president for business and platform marketing.

RIM's solution is software called BlackBerry Balance, which will allow corporate IT departments to retain control over data such as business-related email sent via a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or BES, while keeping the Web browser and an employee's social networking and photographs separate.

EXPECTED WITHIN TWO MONTHS

"We just wanted to create an innovative solution that allows enterprises to manage the corporate data side while at the same time give their employees the freedom to use Facebook and browse the Web and get their Internet email at the same time," McDowell said in an interview late on Friday.

He said carriers were now testing Balance and it should be available in North America within two months.

Balance will also be available on the PlayBook, RIM's yet-to-launch tablet computer. RIM has not said it will host BES functionality on the PlayBook, but McDowell said that is part of their longer-term plans.
Without direct access to the enterprise server, a user will need to bridge the PlayBook to an existing BlackBerry to access corporate email, address book and calendar functions.

"The plan is to extend it - that's all roadmap items," he said, adding that analyst concerns about the tablet's battery life are unfounded.

"It's going to be equal or greater than the iPad with smaller battery size," he said.

RIM expects to have some 4,000 third-party apps available for the PlayBook's launch, due by March, McDowell said.

RIM Is also planning to incorporate Microsoft's Sharepoint collaborative platform, which is based on its Office suite of products, and allow a single enterprise server to be used by multiple corporations.

Sounds interesting to me!!!

Originally Posted by noangelx

Sounds interesting to me!!!

http://forums.crackberry.com/f40/bla...e-data-578620/

I don't think I am a fan of the idea, I do NOT want some corporate IT guys who maybe have their MSCE or a degree in Information Services or something having access to my personal phone, or personal contacts.
I'll gladly use my personal phone for business if I don't have to relinquish control of the Hardware, or the Phone number, but I will not give access to that.

Also giving up my personal phone for a single Work controlled phone gives one more anchor to a job, having to port all your friends and family to a new mobile number and having restrictions in place based on my company voice/data plan, no thank you.

Originally Posted by deRusett

I don't think I am a fan of the idea, I do NOT want some corporate IT guys who maybe have their MSCE or a degree in Information Services or something having access to my personal phone, or personal contacts.
I'll gladly use my personal phone for business if I don't have to relinquish control of the Hardware, or the Phone number, but I will not give access to that.

Also giving up my personal phone for a single Work controlled phone gives one more anchor to a job, having to port all your friends and family to a new mobile number and having restrictions in place based on my company voice/data plan, no thank you.

+1 I like what is mine to stay what is mine.

Originally Posted by middbrew

+1 I like what is mine to stay what is mine.

And not having a twit tinker with what is mine.

I think the IT dept would only have control over the business section of the device, and not access the personal, so the separation would be both ways, or at lease thats how I read it to be. Will have to see how it really works.

Anyway it states that one reason they are implementing this is people bringing their personal phones in to corporation's systems, and that iPhone and Android are the ones gaining from this. This program is not going to keep someone from wanting to bring in an Android or iPhone, and I don't see where this software would save a corporation money.

Complete bull****. Nokia did this years ago. This is RIM catching up. As usual.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I don't see this helping RIM's situation with market share so much. The bottom line is the people want fun devices they can also accomplish work on for their personal devices.

This changes nothing in terms of giving consumers a fun device they can also accomplish work on, and therefore will do nothing to slow the bleeding. There is no way I would allow an IT individual and/or the company as a whole to have any access to my device. If they want me to have one, it'll be owned and issued by them and kept completely separate from my personal device.

Originally Posted by the_sandman_454

I don't see this helping RIM's situation with market share so much. The bottom line is the people want fun devices they can also accomplish work on for their personal devices.

This changes nothing in terms of giving consumers a fun device they can also accomplish work on, and therefore will do nothing to slow the bleeding. There is no way I would allow an IT individual and/or the company as a whole to have any access to my device. If they want me to have one, it'll be owned and issued by them and kept completely separate from my personal device.

I think this as with many other RIM decisions is based on it's global strategy, as AG said Nokia does something very similar, so RIM needs to address this as RIM is taking the Smartphone fight to Nokia in Emerging markets.

For RIM this adds another reason to keep BES, and thus keep Blackberry's in the corporate market, if Company's start ditching BES then RIM even if it makes a killer consumer blackberry still wont get back their business market

Originally Posted by the_sandman_454

I don't see this helping RIM's situation with market share so much. The bottom line is the people want fun devices they can also accomplish work on for their personal devices.

This changes nothing in terms of giving consumers a fun device they can also accomplish work on, and therefore will do nothing to slow the bleeding. There is no way I would allow an IT individual and/or the company as a whole to have any access to my device. If they want me to have one, it'll be owned and issued by them and kept completely separate from my personal device.

I would not add a personal Android or iPhone to a work account either. If the business uses Good, they have just as much control as if they use BES. Good for Enterprise

I think it is a good compromise for people wanting to bring in non-BlackBerry devices, but I think it will more of a headache than anything else. BES admins are now going to have to support multiple platforms, and, if not handled properly, could frustrate a lot of admins and end users.

Hopefullly it goes smoothly, though.

Good for them, RIM should focus on what they do best.

I see no economic advantage to using Balance. If anything, I see this pushing BES out the door faster.

Another duplicate post. Read the first one, don't need to read it again a second time.

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