RIM today announced it is offering its Blackberry Enterprise Server Express (BES) for Lotus Domino version for free, making download available beginning today. That means Lotus Domino is now added to the mix of supported email and collaboration tools of the free BES version from the email giant, which now span the gamut of Microsoft Exchange, Windows Small Business Server, Lotus Domino and Lotus Messaging Server.
BES Express is a light version of the pricey BES and provides features like wirelessly synchronization of email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks, the ability to manage email folders and email search, calendaring functionality for accepting and booking appointments, accessing files on the corporate networks, and accessing applications and systems behind the corporate firewall.
BES Express also provides free email security and monitoring tools for IT administrators like administration management via a Web console, remote device wipe, remote password reset and tools for securing a lost or stolen device.
The Express version is designed not only for small businesses that unwilling or unable to invest in a pricey RIM server, yet still want to provide secure access to email and business applications, but also for businesses that are just getting started with mobile email.
Jeff McDowell, Senior Vice President, Enterprise and Platform Marketing for RIM, said,” It [BES Express] provides an easy way for businesses to get started using BlackBerry smartphones with IBM Lotus Domino and it’s also an ideal no-cost software solution for businesses that want to allow their employees to connect their personal BlackBerry smartphones to their work email.”
Although BES Express for Lotus Domino supports both Domino Enterprise Server and Domino Messaging Server, companies that want to integrate with IBM Lotus Sametime, Lotus Quickr, and Lotus Connections need to purchase the full version of BES, which begins around $4K, not including data plans and device costs.
