Free BES Express for IBM Lotus Domino Released by RIM

I thought RIM had finally moved past announcing new products at 12:01AM EST… The latest announcement brings the free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software to IBM Lotus Domino users. This one is a real no brainer for RIM since they have practically no competition in that space.

The BES Express option is a free way to get enterprises hooked on BlackBerry at no additional licensing cost. It gives you 75 of the 500+ IT policies that come in the premium version of BES for free. The other great feature is that it is able to work with regular BIS data plans instead of the enterprise BES plans required for BES Premium. The only thing you really lose with a BIS plan is the ability to do wireless activation over your cell connection instead of Wi-Fi or desktop manager.

BES Express for IBM Lotus Domino is available as of today at www.blackberry.com/besexpress. Let us know if you give it a spin!

Check out the full announcement after the jump:

RIM Announces Free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express Software for IBM Lotus Domino

Wirelessly Synchronizes BlackBerry Smartphones with Lotus Email, Calendar, Contacts and More; Works with Business and Personal Data Plans

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Nov. 5, 2010) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) announced today BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server Express for IBM Lotus Domino – free server software that wirelessly synchronizes email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks between BlackBerry(R) smartphones and IBM Lotus Domino without compromising security. The software is available today at www.blackberry.com/besexpress.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express uses the same robust security architecture of the market-leading, premium BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server, and includes more than 75 of the over 500 smartphone controls and IT security policies available with the premium version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server software. It supports BlackBerry smartphones on business data plans as well as most personal data plans(i).
"BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is a free download that is designed for businesses of all sizes. It 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," said Jeff McDowell, Senior Vice President, Enterprise and Platform Marketing at Research In Motion.
"There’s tremendous growth in work force mobility, from small businesses through to major corporations, and there is clear evidence that shows how smartphones can increase organizational responsiveness, improve productivity and help employees make the most of their time," said Ed Brill, Director, Messaging and Collaboration, IBM Software Group. "BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is a great opportunity for businesses to cost-effectively extend Lotus Domino to more employees on BlackBerry smartphones."
With BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express connected to IBM Lotus Domino, BlackBerry smartphone users will be able to:

--  Wirelessly synchronize email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks 
--  Manage email folders and search email on the mail server from their
    smartphones 
--  Book meetings and appointments, accept meeting requests, check
    availability and forward calendar attachments 
--  Set an out-of-office reply 
--  Access files stored on the company network 
--  Use mobile applications to access business systems behind the firewall

For IT administrators, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express includes:

--  A Web-based interface that allows remote administration and makes it
    easy to deploy applications over the air, connect and manage BlackBerry
    smartphones, and apply usage policies 
--  Over 75 IT controls and policies, including the ability to remotely wipe
    a smartphone and enforce and reset passwords 
--  Employee self-service tools for securing a lost or stolen device

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express works with Domino Enterprise Server and Domino Messaging Server. It can support multiple Lotus Domino domain environments from a single Web-based administration interface and can be run in parallel with the premium BlackBerry Enterprise Server software for the same instance of IBM Lotus Domino.

The premium version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server for IBM Lotus Domino provides more extensive mobile device management capabilities, over 500 smartphone controls and IT security policies for more granular control, and is required for add-on solutions such as BlackBerry(R) Mobile Voice System, Chalk(TM) Pushcast(TM) Software, the BlackBerry(R) Clients for IBM Lotus Sametime, Lotus Connections, and Lotus Quickr, and other enterprise-grade systems. The premium BlackBerry Enterprise Server is ideal for managing company-issued BlackBerry smartphones, whereas the free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is an ideal option for securely connecting employee-owned BlackBerry smartphones to the corporate network without adding software licensing costs to the company.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for Lotus Domino is available today in seven languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese.

More information is available at www.blackberry.com/besexpress.

(i) Supports BlackBerry smartphones on business data plans as well as personal data plans that include Internet access.