The BlackBerry 10 devices launch is arguably one of the most awaited events in the mobile communications world as it is probably what is going to get Blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) back on track. However, there appears to be a major glitch in the system as there is a possibility that the new devices might not be compatible with the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) technology, which is what made the device so popular in the first place. There has been no official confirmation from RIM about this but if it is indeed true, then the chances of Blackberry 10 devices starting off on a high just fell to zero. In fact, they could be dead on arrival according to some analysts.
Experts at Infoworld believe that there will be chaos at the launch of the new devices because of the updates with the server. Currently, the BES 5.0.3 is in its final stage and an update will take it to 5.0.4. However, the existing servers will not be able to manage BB10 and this will force customers to switch entirely to BB10 in one go and scrap the server or manage both simultaneously, which is going to be rather inconvenient.
The Blackberry 10 devices appear to be very innovative and it is possible that they can revolutionize the company and turn it around. However, this was before anyone knew about the mismatch in the devices. What is important here is that the main customers of RIM are corporations using its infrastructure and any change will have a very profound effect. Instead of switching to a new server, it is possible that customers will switch their entire infrastructure to suit iOS, Android or Windows Phone.
It is no doubt important to innovate and upgrade but there is a fine line that shouldn’t be crossed; if you upgrade too much, you lose customer satisfaction. For example, the same thing happened with Microsoft when it announced that Windows Phone 7 devices cannot be updated to WP8. However, now it is making up for it by releasing WP 7.8. While the overall situation is not the same, the idea and results are similar; Microsoft’s customers too don’t seem very happy. However, RIMs situation is worse because its infrastructure affects hundreds of customers and clients in a single move rather than individuals using their devices or platforms.
September 15, 2012 at 9:36 am
Get a life guys.
September 15, 2012 at 11:34 am
A little research would show that yes BES10 will be compatible with BlackBerry 10. It’s in final beta; I’m currently testing it.
September 15, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Big companies are used to running multiple servers. They will just retire the current servers when the new software can handle both versions of the OS or the older phones are cycled out.
This is really a non-issue.
September 16, 2012 at 7:52 am
To R.T.
I am glad you are testing it and it should be ready in Q1, but this is also the problem with RIM, A very broken vision of the future, up until late this summer no one in the outside world herd of BES 10 and the word on the street was BB 10 devices were only going to be supported by Mobile Fusion server and old BB devices would work on BES 5.03. And to make matters worse is BES 10 will not support other device platforms like iOS, Android or WP8, and the BB 10 OS will not be releasing a API for other MDM vendors. So as good as these devices may or may not be, any company who already has or considering a BYOD policy using iOS, Android & WP7, would have no reason to buy BB 10 devices without some MDM API support outside of MF.