The next Crackie to be given out in the CrackBerry.com BEST of WES 2007 awards is the "NO BRAINER" AWARD. Why the No Brainer? Because having this application on your BlackBerry is a No Brainer - it just makes sense. The envelope please .... and the winner is ....

PocketVPN  

WICKSoft's PocketVPN client gives you the power to securely access, view, email, and fax files and documents located on your office network directly through your BlackBerry handheld device. With PocketVPN on your BlackBerry there is no reason to travel with a laptop anymore - you can literally be a continent away from your office and computer and still access any document you need at a moment's notice.

My Introduction to PocketVPN
I first became aware of the PocketVPN application a couple of months ago, but for whatever reason (too busy I guess!) I never gave the available demo a try. But on my first day of WES I met Will Hickie, President of WICKSoft, and after talking to him about the application for a few minutes we quickly hooked up the software on my 8700. WOW. Simple, Functional, and I'll never ever go back to the days of having to email myself files so that I would have them on my BlackBerry. 

PocketVPN is really easy to use. I simply open the application and login with my username and password. From there I am connected to my network drive, where I can see all of my folders and files. Browsing folders is intuitive and easy, and once I locate a file with one click I have the option to view it, see its properties, or email it (clicking email pops up an email window with the file already attached - I just enter in the email address and message and hit send). 

The "No Brainer"
While I was impressed with PocketVPN when the President gave me a demo on the first day of WES, it was the phone call I received the next day from my friend Tyler that both gave name to the "No Brainer" award and allowed PocketVPN to clinch it. I wrote a blog post earlier that morning summing up the events of Day 1, and in it I mentioned Pocket VPN as an application that caught my eye. 

Tyler, who is the VP Operations at a big fresh-cut flowers brokerage company (they supply flowers to big chain grocery stores and retailers throughout North America) and happens to be a frequent bathroom reader of the mobile version of the CrackBerry.com blogs, saw the post and immediately phoned me up...

Tyler: How's Orlando?
Kevin: Good. Moving slow today, free alcohol last night, but Good.
Tyler: You mean I can access files on my network through my BlackBerry with that VPN program?
Kevin: Yeah, that's right.
Tyler: Darn (edited), I need that so bad! Last night I went straight from work to a dinner thing, so I left my laptop at the office. I was home in bed sleeping at 11:30pm and I got a call from from one of the farms in Bogota - they were missing a shipping order and needed it right away. So I had to drive back to the office and and email it to them. By the time I got home and fell back asleep it was almost 4am, and then I had to get up at 5:30am to get back to the warehouse for Mother's day shipping.
Kevin: Dude, that sucks.
Tyler: That should be on every BlackBerry, what a No Brainer. Would have totally saved my crappy (edited) night. When you get back from Orlando make sure you hook me up with it.

And just like that, though it wasn't announced until just now, PocketVPN became the winner of the Best of WES 2007 "No Brainer" Award. Congrats Guys!

More Information: Interview with Will Hickie, More Photos and Discuss PocketVPN in the CrackBerry.com Forums...

Be sure to check out other Best of WES 2007 Winners:

• Yahoo! Go - Best of Show Crackie Award Winner
• SimuSays - Must Have Application Crackie Award Winner
• OtterBOX 8700 Case - Best Accessory Crackie Award Winner