For my third post, I’ll be talking about the connectivity of BlackBerry…
CONNECTIVITY
Regards of BlackBerry’s connectivity, their smartphones can integrate into an email system within an organization through a software package called BlackBerry Software Server (BES) and BlackBerry Software Server (BES) from versions 5 and of 10. About BES, their versions have availability for other software like Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, Novell GroupWise and even Google Apps. As usual with BES, organizations that have multiple users would run this software right onto their network while individuals are able to use an email service of a wireless provider without having themselves to install the software. BlackBerry devices that either OS 10 or later can also be directly managed by Microsoft Exchange Server with Exchange ActiveSync polices either in the same way that iOS or Android devices can do. For BES, there are some third-party companies that provide hosted solutions of their software. With BES, what they use for identifying the device is a BlackBerry PIN. At one time, BlackBerry provided a free software of BES called BES Express (BESX).
The primary feature of BES is used for relaying email from a corporate mailbox to BlackBerry phone. The BES then monitors the user’s mailbox to relay new messages to the phone via BlackBerry’s Network Operations Center (NOC) and the user’s wireless provider. With NOC, this feature can be known as push email because of all new emails, contacts and entries (task, memopad, calendar) immediately pushing out to the BlackBerry device. Also, BlackBerry gives support of poling email through third-party applications. The only thing that BlackBerry can understand with is their built-in messaging system and how they can receive messages from either BES or BIS as these services can handle the connections to the mail providers of the user. For BlackBerry’s device storage, it enables the mobile user to access all data off-line in areas without needing wireless service. The BES would send the latest data after the wireless service is reconnected by the user.
What BES provides with are phones that have a TCP/IP connection accessed through a component of MDS, a connection service allowing custom application development to use data streams on BlackBerry devices based on the platform of Sun Microsystems Java ME. As of an addition to BES, it provides network security either in the form of Triple DES or recently in encryption of AES of all data traveling between the BlackBerry phone and BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Recently with more versions of the BlackBerry platform, the MDS is no longer required for wireless data access. Without MDS, BlackBerry phones can get internet access but the BES/MDS is still a requirement for secure email, data access and applications that require WAP from carriers which do not allow WAP access. A primary alternative of BlackBerry Enterprise Server to be used is BlackBerry internet Service. BIS is internationally available in 91 countries but is primarily developed for the average consumer rather than for the business consumer. Furthermore, BIS allows users to access POP3, IMAP and email accounts of Outlook Web App without having connection with BES. With BIS, it allows access of 10 email accounts including proprietary as well as public email accounts like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and AOL.
Also, BIS supports the push capabilities of BlackBerry’s other various applications. Regards of BIS, what utilizes the applications of push capabilities are RIM’s various applications that BlackBerry develops like the clients of Instant Messaging. For BIS’s use, data plans do require of MMS, PIN, interactive gaming, mapping and trading applications. Although BlackBerry runs their service, it would run through a mobile service provider as usual. Around October 10, 2010 in 10:00 UTC, millions of BlackBerry users have been affected due to an outage that occurred in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The following day also had an another outage which made a huge effect on BlackBerry and its service. By October 12, 2011, BIS went down in North America as RIM made attributions of overloading data regarding switch failures in two of their data centres at Waterloo in Canada and Slough in England as the cause of service disruptions.
BlackBerry 