RIM Pushes Solution Providers Toward Software Services

Since new BlackBerry devices are wireless voice- and data-enabled, solution providers will need to be able to go directly to the carriers to get the products and activations, said Mark Guibert, vice president of brand management at RIM. He noted, however, that RIM is eager to partner with solution providers wanting to develop custom applications that work with the company's new Enterprise Server version 3.5.

In the past, RIM has sold services on slower wireless networks as a virtual carrier. But carriers are more protective of their faster 2.5G networks, which are being rolled out this year, and so RIM has found that it needs to direct its partners to carriers for service, Guibert said.

Now RIM is looking for partners that can make the most out of the 3.5 server by writing applications that allow customers to access back-end corporate data as well as standard e-mail and PIM functionality, Guibert said. "That's really where [solution providers can add some value," he said.

RIM on Wednesday announced an agreement to work with integrator SAIC to provide BlackBerry-based solutions for the government, health-care, utility and emergency-response verticals.

"SAIC and RIM will work together to leverage the new connectivity features of BlackBerry Enterprise Server 3.5 and help customers build secure wireless applications that extend access to enterprise data beyond the firewall," said Jim Balsillie, RIM chairman and co-CEO, in a statement.

RIM is readying a number of black-and-white BlackBerry devices to be sold by carriers this year. The company announced that its model 6710 is being sold by AT&T Wireless and showed off a similar model that will be offered by Nextel later this year.

While RIM BlackBerry competitors, such as the Pocket PC Phone Edition and the Handspring Treo are offering color screens, RIM isn't expecting to release a color model until early next year, Guibert said. "We have them, and a bunch of RIM folks are using them, but we don't want to rush into color," he said.

RIM engineers are working on making sure the device offers good color-screen quality without draining the battery before the company will go to market with the product, Guibert said.

Handspring and Pocket PC devices have been criticized by solution providers for their relatively short battery life.