RIM today announced details about an upcoming, cloud-based version of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) for Microsoft Office 365, with hosted BES for other messaging platforms coming in the future. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) today detailed its upcoming, cloud-based BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) offering during a media webcast. News of a free, hosted BES service for Microsoft Office 365 users hit the Web yesterday, but RIM officially announced the service today. The Canadian company also said that support for additional popular messaging platforms should come in the not-so-distant future. Cloud-based BES provides options to deploy and manage BlackBerry devices in the cloud, according to RIM. But it will not offer the full IT control and management options currently available within RIM’s full BES; instead, it will offer features similar to those found in RIM’s slimmed-down BES Express software. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe The cloud-based BES will also support RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry Balance service, which is meant to help enterprises separate work and personal data on employees’ smartphones. The new BES offering will be hosted by RIM, and as such, customers will see a number of benefits, according to Alec Taylor, RIM’s VP of software, services and enterprise marketing. “RIM knows [the BES] product best, so you’re going to get a superior experience,” Taylor says. “And you’re always going to have the latest, up-to-date software,” since this new version of BES will be hosted by RIM and not stored on-premise, or hosted by its users. RIM plans to make a closed beta of the new hosted BES available some time this year, with general availability expected in late 2011. Cloud-based BES won’t likely replace the current BES, which organizations host on their own corporate servers, at least for the time being, because it does not offer the same security safeguards available in full BES. But Taylor sees many companies running a “hybrid environment” of cloud-based BES and older on-premise BES. Additional information on RIM’s hosted BES offerings should be available shortly on the company’s website. AS Al Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Al at asacco@cio.com Related content opinion The changing face of cybersecurity threats in 2023 Cybersecurity has always been a cat-and-mouse game, but the mice keep getting bigger and are becoming increasingly harder to hunt. By Dipti Parmar Sep 29, 2023 8 mins Cybercrime Security brandpost Should finance organizations bank on Generative AI? Finance and banking organizations are looking at generative AI to support employees and customers across a range of text and numerically-based use cases. By Jay Limbasiya, Global AI, Analytics, & Data Management Business Development, Unstructured Data Solutions, Dell Technologies Sep 29, 2023 5 mins Artificial Intelligence brandpost Embrace the Generative AI revolution: a guide to integrating Generative AI into your operations The CTO of SAP shares his experiences and learnings to provide actionable insights on navigating the GenAI revolution. By Juergen Mueller Sep 29, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence feature 10 most in-demand generative AI skills Gen AI is booming, and companies are scrambling to fill skills gaps by hiring freelancers to make the most of the technology. These are the 10 most sought-after generative AI skills on the market right now. By Sarah K. White Sep 29, 2023 8 mins Hiring Generative AI IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe