BlackBerry smartphones and enterprise users were for some time an undisputed duo. But just as Research In
Motion has gradually made inroads into the consumer market, popular consumer
devices such as the Apple iPhone and Google Android
-running smartphones have even more swiftly encroached on RIM’s
bread-and-butter market. RIM, however, has a new offering planned that officials believe will help them to better hold onto
their corporate clientele.
In two months’ time, RIM plans to introduce a software
called BlackBerry Balance that will enable IT departments to securely separate
a user’s business-related e-mail, sent
through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), from the user’s personal social
networking information and photographs, Reuters reported Jan. 23.
Jeff McDowell, RIM’s senior vice president for business and
platform marketing, described smartphones as being in the position of hosting
conflicting "use cases": the user’s personal life and work life.
"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 a Jan. 21 interview,
according to Reuters.
For more, read the eWeek article: RIM BlackBerry Balance Software Will Separate Personal, Work Data: Report.
