Google Apps Connector for BES goes live
First announced at WES 2009, Google’s Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server has finally gone live after missing its promised July launch. Free to Google Apps Premier and Education Edition users, Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server allows Google Apps to integrate with BES while eliminating the need for Exchange. Here are the highlights:
- Messages sent to your Gmail inbox are pushed to your BlackBerry within 60 seconds.
- Emails read/deleted on your BlackBerry are marked as read/deleted in Gmail, and vice-versa.
- Emails archived/starred on your BlackBerry are archived/starred in Gmail, and vice-versa.
- BlackBerry folders are synchronized with labels in Gmail.
- You can search for contact information of coworkers from the global address list on your BlackBerry.
- Contacts in Gmail are automatically synchronized with your BlackBerry address book.
- You can view your Google Calendar schedule with the native BlackBerry application, with one-way synchronization from Google Calendar to your BlackBerry device. Two-way calendar sync with the ability to accept, decline and schedule meetings from your BlackBerry device is not available with this release but we are working on it.
- Administrators can use the management and security tools that are part of BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
All in all, Google Apps Connector seems to be a solid Exchange alternative — though we would definitely have a very, very hard time parting with Microsoft’s tried and true solution. Plenty of companies are doing it however, so this is big news for them. Us? We’ll stick to Exchange.
There is only one problem with this release..no 2 way calendar sync. That alone makes this product null and void…thus Exchange stays for the time being.
Cool! Now BES users can do what BIS users have been doing for over a year now. Well, except for 2 way sync…….
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).
Boygenius, do you use a hosted exchange provider? Or run ur own exchange/bes solution. I have been wanting to implement one myself, but hosted is way too expensive and running my own solution just seems too risky and time consuming.
I use a hosted exchange service. It’s not that expensive. At what dollar amount does it become expensive in your opinion?
I run my own personal Exchange server, it is fucking great!!! It keeps my laptop, outlook, and multiple smartphones synchronized all the time!
@NS, it is a bit of a job to setup exchange, but it’s well worth it in the end…and I don’t know what you mean by “risky”??
I have run my own Exchange since 5.5 in a small non-profit with just over 100 seats, for me, Google Apps is looking all the more attractive, as most users just use calendaring, contacts and e-mail, which Google Apps does admirably and I don’t have to worry about care and feeding (notably backups) anymore.
Also, a huge plus for me with Google Apps is that they have distributed data centers, making their web-interface fast most anywhere you are in the world, wheras my OWA which is hosted in Vancouver can be rather slow for folks in South Africa for instance.
That said, like BGR I will personally miss having Exchange on my network…
Something to consider is your location. In Canada some organizations have blocked access to Google Apps as it could be at odds with the privacy laws. Google being a US company is subject to the Patriot Act that allows the US government to view any records held by a US organization via a National Security Letter. Now it is “Anything you type or save can be used against you in a court of law”
Are there any hosting solutions that offer Exchange server, BES, and Google Apps Connector for individual accounts for a monthly or yearly fee? I know there are many that do this for just Exchange and BES.