Oonagh ReidyResearch In Motion and Microsoft have cut a deal to run Microsoft Office 365 on its devices.
RIM-hosted service, and will initially be available for Exchange Online for Office 365 on a subscription basis similar to BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express.
As part of the new agreement between the two giants, Microsoft will cut the price of its current BlackBerry business productivity online suite (BPOS) for business to $0 per user per month (plus a BlackBerry service plan).
This means that customers will enjoy a cloud-based BlackBerry service with a set of features similar to its enterprise server express that is priced competitively with ActiveSync services.
Administrators will be able to use BlackBerry Balance technology to keep corporate data separate from personal data on devices, change device passwords and settings and locate and manage multiple users with extensive search criteria.
In addition, employees will have more self-service options for greater control over their device.
BlackBerry enterprise service for Office 365 will replace the existing Microsoft-hosted BlackBerry enterprise service that is available today for BPOS – Standard.
“This latest addition to RIM’s cloud-based services signals a new era of possibilities for enterprise customers,” the Canadian giant said in a blog.