First Look: BlackBerry Web Desktop Manager
In a day and age when reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) and operating overhead required to support enterprise messaging solutions are a top priority for organizations, it seems that fewer and fewer solutions providers are actually offering a means to their customers to aide in addressing these issues head-on, much less free of charge. Research In Motion recently announced their plans to release a web-based version of their desktop client application, aptly named BlackBerry Web Desktop (or BlackBerry Administration Service, which is it’s installed name).
I had my expectations for the product offering as being something that was put together in a post-DST mad-house rush, although these rather dreary expectations were far exceeded by the resulting present I was able to install earlier tonight.
The idea of reducing operating costs when deploying BlackBerry devices has always been atop most CIO and CFO’s lists of things that typically get swept under a rug somewhere, so this added incentive of removing the footprint left by BlackBerry Desktop Manager from end-user’s machines definitely allows for some rather joyous expressions on everyone’s faces, from deskside support groups to desktop management groups to systems administrators and right on up to the big dogs in the glass-wall offices. Throw in a simple installation and out-of-the-box full-functionality usage and we have a sure-fire winner with BlackBerry Web Desktop.
While there are obvious absences from the thin-client version of BlackBerry Desktop Manager, such as the newly added Roxio Media Manager as well as long-time veteran BlackBerry Desktop Redirector, the BlackBerry Web Desktop includes almost all basic functionality, including the ability to change your signature, configure filter settings, device switch management, and complete backup and restore functionality. Application Loader functionality is very similar to a shared/managed Application Loader configuration, where this functionality is available through a non-installed software version that references a shared repository for it’s packages, be it handheld upgrades or third-party applications. It would appear that full charging capabilities are included with this thin-client, by way of a Device Manager thin-client, although I have yet to find a definitive answer to this question, either through RIM’s knowledge base or my limited time spent with the product itself.
With that said, it’s the functionality found exclusively within the BlackBerry Web Desktop, the ability to self-provision a wireless enterprise activation passwords, that makes this solution the most exciting to me. The various past implementations of user management, whether it was role-based administration, restrictive BlackBerry Manager switches, or scripting around the BlackBerry Resource Kit, have always come up quite short in terms of the ‘WOW!’ effect and appeal. Allowing an end-user to set their own wireless enterprise activation password is literally a godsend in most situations, although the lack of an open management interface to this particular module somewhat disappoints me, although that’s technically not what this product was designed for, either.
After the Daylight Saving Time fiasco involving Desktop Manager, where RIM’s solution was to upgrade to the latest version of Desktop Manager (version 4.2 SP1, at the time), even though it wasn’t even available yet, I’m really glad to see this approach in resolving almost all questions or concerns should there be a requirement in the future for similar amounts of time and resources to be spent on individual client software upgrades. The BlackBerry Web Desktop certainly combines all of the existing benefits of Desktop Manager, Device Manager, and shared Application Loader and expands on them exponentially, with very few negatives and many, many positives that help aid in the reduction of support costs and end-user headaches. Bravo RIM!
when this is going to be available?
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Will this work with Macs (Safari)?
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BG this is incredible news for blackberry provisioning. Any news on when this will be available? I would imagine at some point there has to be some tie in to a BES
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Looks great to me!
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*ahem* Speaking on behalf of BG, since he obviously posted this article
It will be available sometime between tomorrow and the end of June (per WES information).
It won’t work with Safari or Firefox (have tested the latter), as it actually relies on an ActiveX installation of the device communications driver that allows this to work; this means that it won’t work on your BlackBerry device, either (tested that as well).
Logins are referenced against the database it’s configured for, so if you are not on that BES configuration database, you get a login error stating as much. I’m assuming the BlackBerry Administration Service will be expanded upon in Argon/BES 5.0, so expect this to be included in the future.
Honestly, from a BES administration standpoint, I could care less, aside from obvious cost reduction points to help aide in the ever-annoying RIMM vs MSFT arguments that are being fueled every single day. From a Desktop/Deskside Support and Application/Desktop Management standpoint, I think this is the best thing since sliced-bread for BlackBerry. I showed this to a few people outside of my group today and they absolutely loved it.
One thing to add, it runs two services. I have a single user (me) on my BES test servers and these two processes were eating up ~200MB of memory. That’s a pretty heavy load, and I’m not really sure how much it increases as it scales upwards.
Oh, this is also the first web-based application that carries the Argon/BES 5.0 layout, so for a preview of what the web-based administration console will look like in the future, have a look at this when it’s available. It utilizes AJAX, as well (woot!); you can see this with the “Add Filter” screenshot.
Sorry for the long post. I was fried (literally, sunburned pretty darn bad) last night and forgot to include all this information in the post.
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wow cool!!!
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The filter screen shot brought up a question - in a BES environment, would the “From” filter require free-form entry of SMTP email addresses or is there an option to populate names from, say, a global address book?
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I don’t like the fact when it is automatically installing two files on your computer - which in large companies is a problem. Noone has admin rights. That’s my concern. We’ll see if the GPO guide will help.
Otherwise the software is pretty neat. Although i would like to have the Choose Folder Redirection functionality inside. But as RIM said, this will be in the new release.
This is version 1.0.0.
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How do I install Web Desktop Manager.
Is it suported by BES 4.1.3 ?
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I have been trying to install this in our test environment first and continually get LDAP Connection Failed. The LDP test I can bind to either the test or prod DC just fine, trying to do it through the install and it fails with “LDAP Connect Error 49″. Which states invalid credentials - but they are the same credentials I use with LDP test.
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Any luck with the LDAP Connection message?
Ive double and triple checked my entries etc. and it still will not connect?
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I am unable to pass LDAP credentials, no matter who I try to login as. I’m using credentials for anyone and everyone who is already active on the BES.
Frustrated. I want to get this working.
Environment: Domino 7 + BES 4.1.6 (Using SQL DB) + WDM 1.0
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