We're seeing huge, unabated growth in the number of mobile devices in the tech industry. In 2006, there were 10 million wireless users in the enterprise, and if current growth trends continue, in 2010 there will be 199 million. Some companies, for example, are adding 100 Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry devices per week! How can hope to manage so many distributed devices?
The complex interactions between users, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), Microsoft Exchange Server, Active Directory (AD), networks, and other systems can result in downtime with serious ramifications on user productivity and IT stress levels. According to a recent survey by Osterman Research, troubleshooting user-related issues and Exchange/BES interactions accounts for nearly 80 percent of time spent managing BES.
According to Zenprise's Ahmed Datoo, the first question Zenprise always asks its Exchange customers is, "Which additional applications would you like us to troubleshoot?" The answer, more often than not, has been the BlackBerry. So, Zenprise has asked itself, "What is it about mobile devices and the BlackBerry in particular that's causing pain?"
The company identified three big problems or trends. First, as BlackBerry devices start rolling out, how do you appropriately manage growth without increasing IT head count? After an initial rollout, BlackBerry usage can quickly spread through a company. How can you automate a lot of the necessary management? A second concern is service level management. Studies have found that BlackBerry usage is skewed to higher-level employees. Third, there's a compliance and security aspect to BlackBerry deployment: A lot of email messages are flowing to devices with very sensitive information. Have users enabled adequate security?
Zenprise 3.1 for BlackBerry lets you better manage your mobile infrastructure and lets you quickly identify the root causes of email problems between Exchange and BlackBerry. Zenprise 3.1 offers comprehensive BlackBerry management with new dashboards that provide granular detail on individual BlackBerry users across the enterprise. VIP dashboards guarantee the highest service levels for critical executive users. More problem-signature files from the RIM knowledge base have also been added to power Zenprise’s unique step-by-step resolution instructions. Customers can now use Zenprise to troubleshoot more than 5,500 problems across the BlackBerry infrastructure, which allows for a faster mean time to repair and improved overall user service levels.
Zenprise 3.1 is available today. Pricing begins at $35 per user for 1000 users. To learn more about Zenprise 3.1 for BlackBerry, go to the company Web site.
