Yesterday, one of our engineers ran into some trouble deploying some BlackBerry’s for a customer. Verizon happened to have been the carrier. The client was running BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express (BESx). After having difficulty provisioning the devices, the engineer decided to call Verizon. One or more Verizon representatives claimed that BESx was “unsupported” and advised our engineer that the customer would need to upgrade to a corporate or enterprise messaging plan.
Exigent Technologies is a BlackBerry Reseller. With the confusion that ensued, I decided to contact our representative at RIMM. Here’s what I was told:
Our rep. said that BES Express does work with Verizon even if you do not have a corporate/enterprise messaging plan, with one caveat. If you do not have a corporate/enterprise messaging plan, you cannot perform wireless provisioning of the devices. You must use a physical cable to provision the device onsite at the server. (I think you can also do this at a PC). Once the device is provisioned in this manner, RIMM stated that it will work just fine (without the Corporate/Enterprise Messaging Plan from Verizon)
Our contact at RIMM stated that Verizon is the only carrier “pushing back” and trying to coerce people into upgrading their plan. This would make sense, since, the introduction of the FREE BES Express likely results in significant lost revenue for Verizon.
Our rep. went on to say that many people are downloading BES Express and deploying the devices with the cable, and are working just fine. Other customers that have many devices to deploy are purchasing the upgraded messaging plan from Verizon, provisioning the devices “over the air”, and then downgrading their plan with Verizon to eliminate the extra “corporate messaging” charge(s). It will be interesting to see how this plays itself out.
Daniel Haurey Jr. is the president and founder of managed IT services provider Exigent Technologies, which he founded in 1997. Under his leadership, the MSP has earned accolades ranging from Channel Futures MSP 501 to being named SonicWall’s 2024 MSP Growth Partner of the Year. Dan is a true entrepreneur, dedicated to growing, investing in, and mentoring small businesses. You can find him on LinkedIn, where he regularly posts about technology, business, leadership, and community.