Microsoft Corporation and Canadian Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the Blackberry line of phones and the software (see the product page here) that enable the devices to work with Microsoft Exchange servers (among other options), announced plans to integrate Blackberry devices with the Windows Live services (see the product page here). According to the two companies, by this summer, Blackberry users will be able to connect with Windows Live Hotmail and utilize Windows Live Messenger on their smart phones.

With Apple's iPhone version 2.0 software also coming this summer (set to be downloadable by all iPhone users by the end of June; see this previous post; see the product page here), this should amplify the battle between Blackberry users and iPhone users, who will soon have the ability to sync their phones with Exchange servers.

Blackberry + Exchange + Windows Live versus iPhone + IMAP + Exchange

Microsoft is becoming a sort of arms dealer in the smart phone race. It has its own Windows Mobile offerings (see the product page here), and supports Blackberrys as well as other phones. By licensing its ActiveSync technology to Apple, it has now enabled the iPhone maker to take a share of the enterprise phone market from its own Windows-powered phones, as well as RIM and other vendor devices. 

While there are certainly other phone makers, such as Nokia (which still sells the most phones on a global basis), Samsung, and Motorola, and there are new software platforms emerging, such as Google's Linux-based Android (see the product page here), the public relations (PR) battle is being fought by two of the smaller device makers, RIM and Apple.

How will the PR battle lines be drawn? The debate between platforms -- Blackberry or iPhone -- that has and will continue to be waged online and at the enterprise (business, government, and other large organizaitons) watercooler comes down to:

• Primary interface. The Blackberry is all about the physical keyboard that enables typing of messages. With today's announcement of the Bold phone (read the release here), the company is also pushing its screen capability and related services -- like videos -- forward. For Apple, the iPhone is all about its touch interface. Without a physical keyboard, users type into a virtual keyboard for their messaging needs.
  
  
• Enterprise applicability. RIM and its Blackberry phones and software have been deeply embedded in the enterprise, thanks to its "push mail" and synchronization capabilities -- enabled with the licensing of the Blackberry Enterprise Server (see the product page here). The software allows Blackberrys to tie into a variety of communication platforms: Microsoft's Exchange, IBM's Lotus Domino, and even Novell's GroupWise messaging and calendaring software. In addition, since Blackberry's are available from a variety of global providers, the phones -- and therefore the solutions -- can be used across the planet.
  
  Apple's 2.0 iPhone software will add much needed Exchange support (notably, without the need to license a connectivity server), as well as features that many enterprises demand -- such as remote wiping of data on phones (e.g., if a phone is lost, IT can delete its contents remotely). Apple is also behind RIM in terms of getting the iPhone to global carriers, with limited distribution in many countries. For example, the only fully supported cellular provider in the US is AT&T (unlocked iPhones will work on other GSM networks, but Apple support and phone operation is questionable). For those in Canada, there is no official iPhone carrier even today.
  
  
• Device appeal. Apple's iPhone has garnered much more attention than the competition. Even today, with the release of the Bold Blackberry model, coverage of RIM is minimal -- or tiny, if compared to Apple's PR. In fact, Apple generates more PR on iPhone software and pricing announcements than other phone makers can generate with any new model. And with an expected new model of iPhone this summer, most likely supporting high-speed 3G networking and adding GPS capability, another avalanche of media and blogging coverage is certain.
  
  The key to the iPhone is its interface and its included applications -- the full touch screen and the integrated features, such as an extremely usable Web browser, its "visual" voice mail, an iPod for music and video, an iPhoto-lite photo application, and tailored Google mapping and YouTube software. With the release of the iPhone software development kit (SDK) and the 2.0 software, third-party software should spring up. It does have some glaring features absent, such as support for multimedia in text messaging (e.g., sending a photo taken with its camera in a text message).
  
  Blackberry models, on the other hand, have mostly been sold on one main capability -- relatively seamless connection to enterprise mail and the physical keyboard -- with some industrial design thrown in to entice new users and satiate existing ones (e.g., the Bold, the Curve, and the Pearl have all had slightly different form factors). Most of the phones have had GPS support for some time and also include a music and media player. Despite these advantages, there is very little PR generated about any Blackberry feature beyond email.
  

The Blackberry/iPhone virtual bloodbath

While most enterprise users and consumers will buy phones from companies other than RIM or Apple, a significant -- and influential -- group of users will debate the merits of the two platforms, with full scale arguments taking shape in the summer, with the release of iPhone 2.0 software and the RIM Bold and its Windows Live services.

We expect a massive PR battle to be waged publicly and with surrogates -- either those astroturfing (pretending to be third-parties) or those who are simply active proponents of one solution or the other. The key issues, from an IT perspective, will be:

• Apple's enterprise features. How easy will it be to sysc an iPhone with Exchange? What about support for Domino? Will the remote wipe features work? Will enterprises take advantage of the ability to write their own applications, despite concerns about how Apple might limit their hosting and distribution?
  
  Given the slow pace of enterprise adoption, it will take a long time -- most likely until the end of the year -- to see any large organization take the full iPhone plunge. Look for medium-size business experience as a short-term fix in terms of getting information of iPhone applicability to the enterprise.
  
  
• The non-server iPhone sync solution. With no need for an expensive middleware server like the Blackberry Enterprise Server, Apple has the opportunity to entice enterprise cusotmers who don't want to invest in the license and management of another server. It will be a harder sell for those companies who already have the server software and Blackberrys rolled out -- like any change in technology, shifting users form one platform to another is never an appealing prospect, as the logistics, the support training, and the user confusion add a tremendous cost to any migration.
  

At the every least, a low-cost integration effort, combined with user demand, will drive iPhone adoption in enterprises. But expect Blackberry supporters to circle the wagons. The debates will feel a lot like the Windows/Mac battles that were and are now starting to be waged once again within the enterprise. We don't expect Blackberrys to disappear in significant numbers in the short term, but we do expect to see them sharing the enterprise spotlight with a small but growing number of iPhones.

By: Tom Rhinelander