BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 5.0.3 for Exchange, Domino Finally Available

Today, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) finally released a long-awaited update to its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) software, BES 5.0 Service Pack 3, a.k.a., BES 5.0.3.

RIM told me back in January that the BES 5.0.3 update was due “very, very” soon, but in RIM terms that seems to translate to something like “Within the next few months.” (On the same note, RIM told attendees of its annual BlackBerry Developer Conference last September that its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet would be released in the first quarter of 2011, but that never happened. The PlayBook is now set to be released in the United States on April 19.)

Late last month, I reported that BES 5.0.3 would likely be released before the end of March, but my source was either off by a week or RIM decided to delay the release at the last minute. Regardless, BES 5.0 users on Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Notes can now pick up the BES 5.0.3 update from RIM’s downloads page.

For a detailed breakdown of the most noteworthy additions and enhancements in the new update, read “BES 5.0.3: Nine Key Features.”

BES Express 5.0.3, a slimmed-down, cheaper version of BES meant for use within small- or medium-sized businesses, is not yet available, nor has RIM released any details on when the BES Express update can be expected. But information from a purported 2011 RIM enterprise software roadmap, leaked last week, suggests BES Express 5.0.3 will be made available in either late May or early June.

Download BES 5.0.3 for Exchange or Domino from RIM’s website.

AS

Via @Banthon

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