In an exclusive interview with our sister site CrackBerry.com, the new CEO of BlackBerry John Chen confirms that BlackBerry Enterprise Server support is headed to Windows Phone. No ETA for the popular backend service was mentioned, but Windows Phone, like Android and iOS are certainly on their radar.
Considered middleware, BlackBerry Enterprise Service (or just BES), is an industry leading and trend setting messaging service that also support calendar and contact support. Similar in nature to Microsoft’s Exchange, which it also supports, BES has been the backbone of BlackBerry’s success in the past. The company is hoping to reinvigorate their enterprise offerings by refocusing on what made them strong in the first place.
In today’s interview, Chen went on record confirming interest in Windows Phone and BES support:
“I could put a sales team on Wall Street. I know how to do this up and down Wall Street … we will go in and tell them why BES is the best thing for them, and go through the road map, the offerings, and all that good stuff. We're going to protect their investment in iPhone, and Android, and everywhere else, even with Windows Phones.”
That’s great news for Windows Phone users who work for companies that rely on BES as their backend. In short, the more options, the better because while many of us may choose Exchange, many companies out there still rely on BlackBerry Enterprise Server, currently locking out Windows Phone owners.
Regarding BBM (formerly BlackBerry Messenger), Alex Kinsella from the BBM team says they're equal opportunists. They want to connect everybody. Apple’s iOS and Android had biggest demand so they built there first, but as there is a critical mass of people wanting it they will bring it over to other operating systems, including Windows Phone. It’s not clear, however, if work has already begun or if it is still being considered.
As Windows Phone heads into 2014, it’s becoming clear that it is the third way, even from past rivals like BlackBerry. That can only be considered to be good news.
Source: CrackBerry
