[BeachBumSteve]

RIM Kills Projects: BlackBerry Unite & BlackBerry Professional Software to Get the Axe Soon | BerryReview.com »

[skyman84]

I need confirmation!

They can't ditch BPS without a suitable replacement.

[rambo47]

Blackberry Cool is running the story too. None of the financial news sites have picked it up as an official RIM announcement yet, so it could still be just a rumor/bad story.

[Shaun]

Ya, this is less then stellar news, but honestly, not terribly surprising.

[BeachBumSteve]

Maybe we will see an entirely new pricing structure with BES 5.0, taking into account the SOHO market.

[OrangeNBlueBerry]

Originally Posted by BeachBumSteve

Maybe we will see an entirely new pricing structure with BES 5.0, taking into account the SOHO market.

I certainly hope so, because $2800 for BES to support 1-4 users ain't gonna fly.

[BeachBumSteve]

Originally Posted by OrangeNBlueBerry

I certainly hope so, because $2800 for BES to support 1-4 users ain't gonna fly.

Agreed! I have to believe they'll revise their whole price/package strategy though. I just can't see them giving up the entire SOHO market to BES Hosting, Google Sync, Astrasync, etc... after they've grown their consumer market so much in the last year or so. EVERYBODY wants wireless sync, whether it's an individual consumer, a family, or a small office...the only variable is how much the consumer is willing to pay. They need to find the price point(s) that work for the less than 5, 10, and 20 device market. Who the heck wants to use a third party product when there's no price advantage...that just adds another point of failure.

[zduchene]

I agree...BPS is a good product for the SOHO user, even for a family. I hope they come out with something. A new price structurer for BES 5.0 would be nice, then we would get all the new features as well.

[BeachBumSteve]

Originally Posted by zduchene

I agree...BPS is a good product for the SOHO user, even for a family. I hope they come out with something. A new price structurer for BES 5.0 would be nice, then we would get all the new features as well.

AND...there's a payoff for RIM as well, in that they develop and deliver a single product to the market. Controls development costs AND increases sales!

[zduchene]

Originally Posted by BeachBumSteve

AND...there's a payoff for RIM as well, in that they develop and deliver a single product to the market. Controls development costs AND increases sales!

good point!

[Berny]

Will I be able to migrate my 30 BPS CALs to a new BES server? Especially once BPS is dead?

[jeffro01]

Back to windows mobile i go, if in fact this turns out to be true and RIM doesn't release some sort of pricing structure for BES 5 that caters to the little guys... Mobile activesync is free if you have an exchange server so... Whats the point?? I really hope that RIM isn't this short sighted when it comes to offering products and services that enhance blackberry adoption rates.

I really hope this isn't true... I can't afford a 3K BES solution...

Jeff

[mvarre]

something really has to give here. I install alot of SBS servers for customers and one of the biggest selling points is that i can get them fully featured wireless sync for pennies. This is standard for all my installs.

They need to start speaking up about their plans here.

[mpeckham]

I was really looking forward to moving from a hosted solution to the BPS solution for about 6 users so this is unfortunate. There is no way I can justify a full fledged BES for that amount of people. What gives anyway...first they had BES Express a little over a year ago and then they switched that to BPS and now...? If they do not offer up a solution for the small business market, I will be one unhappy camper.

[knottyrope]

Originally Posted by Berny

Will I be able to migrate my 30 BPS CALs to a new BES server? Especially once BPS is dead?

You you can upgrade to full BES for about 2800.00 USD which includes 5 user CAL's

[OrangeNBlueBerry]

Originally Posted by mpeckham

I was really looking forward to moving from a hosted solution to the BPS solution for about 6 users so this is unfortunate. There is no way I can justify a full fledged BES for that amount of people. What gives anyway...first they had BES Express a little over a year ago and then they switched that to BPS and now...? If they do not offer up a solution for the small business market, I will be one unhappy camper.

+1. BPS was the primary factor to choose BB over iPhone.

[mpeckham]

Here is the response I received from the Blackberry sales department regarding the end of BPS:

Hi Matthew,

Thank you for contacting BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry Professional Software was always a promotional offer of ours. I am not able to confirm those rumors of this offer ending. It is very popular with our small to medium businesses, so I donxxx8217;t see it moving anywhere in the near future!

So, what gives here? I imagine that the sales department might not have all the info, nor be inclined to divulge all the info on this subject. Of course, I am somewhat cynical...

[knottyrope]

Any questions?

[jeffro01]

^^Beating a dead horse?



Jeff

[GibsonD]

I agree that there needs to be a better solution for SMB BlackBerry users. Hosted BES is one other solution. We offer this to SMB customers for a fraction of the price of purchasing the server and licenses. This is a fully supported service and includes all CAL's. If you would like more information on this please give me a call Dianne Gibson at Mobile Data Solutions 1-866-483-4023.