BlackBerry lifts lid on BES12, goes big on security and reliability

[sincity]

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Blackberry has used MWC 2014 to announce the latest version of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service, called BES12.

Part of its "secure and private mobility solutions for enterprises", BES12 will allow organisations to create "enterprise-grade applications" for use on Blackberry devices. The company's new EZ Pass program will provide free migration to BES10 for customers.

The Canada-based mobile maker is hoping that a renewed focus on security, productivity, communications and collaboration will help to rejuvenate its fortunes, in particular within its traditional business market.

Two tiers

BES pricing and licensing has been updated to offer just two tiers - Silver and Gold. Silver, at US$19 (around AU$24) per user per month, provides device, application, email and security management for BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices.

Gold, at $60 (around AU$72) per user per month, offers a higher level of security for organisations in regulated industries, like government, financial services and healthcare. Subscriptions will be available on an annual or rolling basis.

The firm has also announced the eBBM Suite, an enterprise-class solution aimed at providing secure and reliable real-time mobile messaging for regulated industries.

New strategy

"We have engineered a new strategy to stabilize the company and restore our customers' confidence in BlackBerry," said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO at BlackBerry. "The announcements made during Mobile World Congress demonstrate that BlackBerry is looking to the future and bringing solutions to market that matter most to our customers."

Elsewhere, the firm has launched two new smartphones. The BlackBerry Z3 smartphone is an all-touch version of the BlackBerry 10 aimed at the Indonesian market and the Q20 is a device featuring a QWERTY keyboard.

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