This is major news. Finally a free version of BES that us techies can play around with… 
Research In Motion today announced the immediate availability of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, a new offering aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, branch offices and companies new to BlackBerry. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express provides the same enterprise-level security, reliability, features and functionality of BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.1 and is available as a free download from RIM via the Internet to any customer who purchases a new BlackBerry device.
“Mobile access is an increasingly essential requirement of doing business and this is especially prevalent in smaller businesses,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at RIM. “BlackBerry Enterprise Server is renowned for helping companies become more productive and responsive, while providing industry-leading security, functionality, manageability, and back-end integration. With BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, we’re now making it easier than ever for new customers to derive the full benefits of the BlackBerry solution.”
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software comes with a single user license and is upgradeable to support up to 15 users, beyond that it is required to upgrade to the regular BES. Also included is RIM’s standard 60 day free technical support plan.
You can download your free copy of BES express from blackberry.com
November 16th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Free, yes. But be careful - after the initial 60 days of tech support, RIM will not allow you to purchase any of their service options. We bought our Bbrys through Verizon Wireless and have to convince their help line techs to patch us through to RIM when there is a problem because RIM will not recognize our license. The Verizon help line techs not only go through their routine and often inane phone checks (even when the problem is clearly server related), they often argue that we can call RIM directly (and that they don’t have to perform the connection).
So, free - yes. Seamless, painless - hardly.