I know i've laboured this point several times before but I just don't get it.

I was just browsing the web when a pop-up ad appeared for BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express which is a free version of the middleware component used by BlackBerry devices to communicate with your mail server. At first glance this looks like a major about turn for RIM as one of the key arguments of the Windows Mobile platform over RIM is the need for expensive middleware. Scratch the surface and you see that its not so good:

 

What's Included?

  • One free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express – Small Business Edition v4.1 for Microsoft® Exchange, IBM® Lotus® Domino® or Novell® GroupWise®
  • One user included, expandable to 15 users (at additional cost)
  • The ability to expand beyond 15 users to any size of deployment with the purchase of an unlock key
  • Installation assistance directly from Research In Motion (RIM) to help you get up and running

So on my enterprise server (albeit a small business edition), I get one user for free? That would have to be a very small business indeed!

Let's be honest here. With the Messaging and Security feature Pack, Microsoft pretty much added blackberry to Windows mobile. I can understand using RIM's solution for domino or groupwise (people still have those?) but if you have Exchange 2003 or 2007 already, it makes no sense at all.

I must confess, I have implemented blackberry in an Exchange org but, in my defence we were using Exchange 2000 :) So I know that the device user experience is equal or better on a WM device.

As for the server side, the more you scale out the more it costs you... :s

If anyone would care to enlighten me, i'm all ears.