Managing BlackBerry Pearl in the Enterprise

[BESadmin]

Managing BlackBerry Pearl in the Enterprise

In addition to everything you would expect from a BlackBerry device – phone, email, web browsing, applications and text messaging, the new BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8100 smartphone also offers a camera and microSD card.

The 1.3 megapixel camera with built-in flash lets you store and share pictures over email and MMS. The microSD expandable memory can be accessed by applications on the BlackBerry Pearl and also function as a USB mass storage device.

But there will always be times when offering users access to these features may not be appropriate. What happens when cameras are banned from specific areas for security reasons? Or when sensitive files may not be permitted on small portable drives?

IT administrators maintain full control

While developing BlackBerry® Pearl, we kept in mind that IT administrators need to be ready for every contingency. These new IT policies offer administrators a way to manage this smartphone’s impressive new capabilities.

Managing the BlackBerry Pearl Camera

Should it be needed, an IT policy exists that allows an administrator to disable the BlackBerry Pearl camera. Like all BlackBerry® Enterprise Server IT policies, this can be applied at an individual level, a group level or across the entire BlackBerry Pearl deployment.

Managing BlackBerry Pearl Expandable Memory

Administrators can also set IT policies to disable the smartphone's expandable memory capability and/or its ability to function as a USB mass storage device. Disabling the expandable memory capability prevents users from storing files on the microSD card. Disabling the USB mass storage capability still allows users to store files on the microSD card, but prevents them from transferring files to or from the BlackBerry Pearl.
Other IT policies give administrators ultimate control over data encryption on the expandable memory card:

• Content can be encrypted to a user-provided password so the content on the microSD card can be accessed using another microSD reading device, as long as the user knows the card password.
• Content can be encrypted to the device key meaning that the information on the microSD card can only be accessed using the specific BlackBerry Pearl smartphone that the card has been encrypted to.
• Or content can be encrypted to both a user-provided password and the device key so that the card data is only accessible to someone who has possession of the smartphone and who knows the card password.

The IT policies required to control the camera and expandable memory are included in BlackBerry Enterprise Server software v4.0.6 and BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.1.2. These new policies can also be imported into previous versions of the software. To find out how, see the following article from the BlackBerry Technical Knowledge Centre: How To - Import IT policy rules for BlackBerry Device Software v4.2.

BlackBerry Enterprise Solution – Over 200 IT policies

The IT policies designed to manage the camera and expandable memory features of the BlackBerry Pearl are just a few of the IT policies that RIM has developed for the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution. With over 200 IT policies, BlackBerry leads the way in helping administrators manage and control their entire wireless solution through intuitive and comprehensive IT policy management tools.

To find out more, see the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Policy Reference Guide, which includes all of the IT Policies available with the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution.