Users of Microsoft's Exchange Online 2010 hosted e-mail service could soon get a free BlackBerry offering. UPDATED: Microsoft has confirmed this report with a post on its Office 365 Blog. Check out full details here. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) and software giant Microsoft are expected to this week announce a free version of Microsoft’s hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) for Exchange Online hosted e-mail customers. The hosted BES product itself is not new, but the free pricing would be; BES for Microsoft Exchange Online currently cost $10 per month, according to a post on ZDNet.com, but it will reportedly soon be free to Microsoft’s Exchange 2010 Online customers, at least for the time being. 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 Exchange 2010 Online is Microsoft hosted Exchange e-mail offering, and the BES product enables users to employ BlackBerry smart phones for on-the-go access to Exchange e-mail, calendar, tasks and more. And admistrators get RIM’s industry-lauded BlackBerry security and device management features. Few additional details are currently available, but RIM has scheduled a “BlackBerry for Business” media webcast for Thursday, March 17, at 2PM EST, during which time the product will very likely be officially announced, along with more specifics. I’ll be sitting in on the webcast, and I’ll post any additional noteworthy details on the free hosted BES for Microsoft Exchange Online 2010 ASAP, assuming the webcast does prove to be related to this rumored announcement. AS via ZDNet.com 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 news CIO Announces the CIO 100 UK and shares Industry Recognition Awards in flagship evening celebrations By Romy Tuin Sep 28, 2023 4 mins CIO 100 IDG Events Events feature 12 ‘best practices’ IT should avoid at all costs From telling everyone they’re your customer to establishing SLAs, to stamping out ‘shadow IT,’ these ‘industry best practices’ are sure to sink your chances of IT success. By Bob Lewis Sep 28, 2023 9 mins CIO IT Strategy Careers interview Qualcomm’s Cisco Sanchez on structuring IT for business growth The SVP and CIO takes a business model first approach to establishing an IT strategy capable of fueling Qualcomm’s ambitious growth agenda. By Dan Roberts Sep 28, 2023 13 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership feature Gen AI success starts with an effective pilot strategy To harness the promise of generative AI, IT leaders must develop processes for identifying use cases, educate employees, and get the tech (safely) into their hands. By Bob Violino Sep 27, 2023 10 mins Generative AI Innovation Emerging Technology 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