New SharePoint Add-On for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) Coming Soon?

Yesterday I posted leaked documentation on the as of yet unannounced BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 5.0 Service Pack 3 (SP3) software update, and though I highlighted a number of notable features and enhancements in the upcoming release, I skipped over one particularly interesting tidbit: The BES 5.0.3 release notes make multiple mentions of some sort of Microsoft SharePoint “RIM Value Added Application” that will be manageable via the latest BES version.

Microsoft’s SharePoint is a collaboration system for corporate workers to share information.

In the past, organizations that wanted custom BlackBerry/SharePoint integration had to look to third-party application vendors for such apps, according to BerryReview.com, the site that first spotted the SharePoint references, but it looks as though RIM may be stepping in to offer a form of native support.

The BES 5.0.3 release notes don’t offer any more details, but SharePoint is mentioned in at least six new IT policy descriptions. It’s unclear when such an application or add-on would become available, but BES 5.0.3 is expected in the coming months so the new BlackBerry SharePoint integration could arrive in the not so distant future.

Check out the BES 5.0.3 release notes here and read about a new Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry app that’s also mentioned in the documentation.

AS

Al Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline. Email Al at ASacco@CIO.com.