[mhreljac]

For those of you in the BlackBerry ISV program, I have a question for you: what are you getting from it? I've been asking my contact at RIM about it but he's not very straight-forward with information (he's pointed me to BlackBerry - ISV (Independent Software Vendor) Alliance Program - BlackBerry Partners twice now, which only contains general brochure-type information). For $2000, I'd expect some information about it before the money gets spent but they aren't letting me know what's involved -- which, of course, doesn't bode well for membership into a program that's supposed to help you.

I'm just looking for some first-hand experiences from people that are in companies belonging to the program.


Thanks
Matty

[Ivanov]

My company is a member of BB Alliance, but I'm not sure how much and which information I can give you respecting the NDA...

From BlackBerry - ISV (Independent Software Vendor) Alliance Program - BlackBerry Partners

* Application development support with dedicated technical resources
* Access to preview and beta software
* Product support, such as special pricing on software and free smartphone(s)
* Marketing support, including marketing materials, joint branding and sales leads
* Complimentary listing in the annual BlackBerry Solutions Catalog and Partners Solutions Directory
* Online training support
* Sales support, including Research In Motion (RIM) Business Development team assistance, resource access and online demonstrations

... actually it's saying what you can expect

In addition you can ask for BIS-B support for your application - this is not a secret as it is mentioned in a presentation about the different ways of establishing a connection

[mhreljac]

Thanks, Ivanov. That's about what they've been pointing me to, but it's fairly generic. For example, "Marketing support" doesn't give someone much help. I mean, it's fine from an introductory level to get to know what the program entails, but previous to enrolling, I would hope a company got the specifics so they knew what parts were valuable to them and whether it was worth the cost to them.

I suppose to some companies, just saying "BlackBerry Alliance Member" is worth it, however.


M

[Dougsg38p]

A couple of other things:

Access to BB Universe for advance OS release access. If you have a commercial product out there, this is invaluable. Without it, your customers are going to see the OS version before you do.

Access to advance release hardware: you can get access to hardware prior official release. Again, invaluable if you are supporting a commercial product.

[fbrimm]

Dougsg38p,

I agreed with everything you said up until the "access to advance hardware". We are still waiting for our Storm through the Alliance Program. We have yet to see a new device prior to it being released, which is unacceptable in my mind.


mhreljac,

The ISV Alliance Program is well worth the cost. I just have an issue with their claim of providing "advance" devices.

fbrimm