As we mentioned yesterday, WES 2009 kicks off early next month and one of the big things we know will take life there is the long-awaited release of BES 5.0. In case any of you enterprise folk were thinking it could get delayed further, be at ease. Yesterday some of the BES 5.0 marketing materials leaked out (click the image above to see them all in detail - it's kind of funny how many of the ads feature the Storm considering in the enterprise space I barely know anyone who uses that device) and RIM also shot out a ton of BES 5.0 info in the I.T. edition of the BlackBerry Connection newsletter. You can also sign up at BlackBerry.com to be notified of BES 5.0's release. All positive signs that it will be here soon!

Related Articles:

• BES 5.0 - What is it? And Walk through >>
• BES 5.0 and OS 5.0 in Action >>
• OS 5.0 In Action >> 
• BlackBerry 101: BES & BIS - What's the Difference? >>
  

We have seen the BlackBerry 5.0 OS in action, many of you all probably still have 5.0 loaded onto either your Bold or 8900 at this point as well, but what we have not really seen is some of new features OS 5.0 brings with it to those of you all who are attached to a BES. Fortunately, Greg over at Berry Review and the good folks at BlackBerry Forums Australia have put together a nice collection of screen shots highlighting some of the new options which will soon be available, BBF Australia have also posted some of the BES 5.0 details as well. More screens after the break.

[ BerryReview via BBFAU ]

BoxTone has been an integral part of BlackBerry enterprise environments for many years now. BoxTone provides a clear window and a magnifying glass view of your BlackBerry environment. It graphically represents the data that can be found in your BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) log files and configuration databases as well as providing real-time trending of that information. BoxTone also alerts (via email or SNMP) when problems arise or certain trended values go above a set threshold. Its alerting engines apply intelligent algorithms to the data it sees and helps it alert appropriately.

BoxTone also provides different views of this data in the form of separate console views. A Help Desk console view for example displays only user information relevant to a first line HelpDesk representative while the Messaging Operator's console provides much more information more relevant to the messaging systems and BESs themselves. So far BoxTone has made a real impact on how BES environments are monitored and maintained but now they are releasing BoxTone version 4.0 which promises to up the ante even further.

Research In Motion announced a new version of BES, version 5.0 on February 11th. It improves upon the existing BES platform in many ways which make administering a BES easier and more flexible. It brings a few new handheld features too which I know users will love.

However, before we get into what's new, let's go over what a BES is. In a future article I'll discuss the differences between a BES and the Microsoft mobile strategy using System Center Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM) and Windows Mobile 6.1.

If your BlackBerry users are complaining about receiving emails every fifteen to thirty minutes in batches, or not receiving emails for many hours, then you may be experiencing a problem between your BlackBerry Enterprise Server(s) (BES) and your Exchange server(s).

The reasons that this occurs can sometimes be hotly contested between the people that run your Exchange servers and the people that run your BESs. This article should help you diagnose the problem and get your email flowing again in real time.

Today RIM announced that they will be acquiring Chalk Media Corp. I have been a believer in Chalk ever since I first saw them at WES in 2007. In fact Doug Soltys from BlackBerry Cool and I recorded a podcast at WES that year where we spoke to Brook Van Hatton from Chalk. If you'd like to take a listen, click here. The product that was creating a stir at WES was called Mobile Chalkboard.  Continue reading after the jump for more info on Mobile Chalkboard and what I think the acquisition is all about.

The company ISEC7 recently won the Enterprise category of the BlackBerry Developers Challenge with a pretty unique product for the BlackBerry called B*Nator Remote Control.

ISEC7 actually sells a BlackBerry monitoring suite, but it is this remote control tool that got all of the attention, and for good reason.

What is B*Nator Remote Control?

As the name suggests, B*Nator Remote Control allows a BlackBerry support person to take control of a BlackBerry.  Not only can they take control of someone’s BlackBerry, but they can do this over the air!

A very useful tool for BlackBerry administrators and support staff is RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Server Compatibility. Just head over to this link, pick your email system (Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise) and you will get a PDF with a very detailed matrix.

This matrix details operating systems, versions of database servers, version of instant messaging infrastructures, etc. Keeping this matrix handy will certainly cut down on the number of questions that remain unanswered when it is time to upgrade a component of your network.

Tomorrow BoxTone will announce a new product called myBoxTone Expert. The product addresses a problem that has not been thought about for any smartphone, let alone a BlackBerry. That is the problem of helping a BlackBerry user with issues that may arise on their device. After seeing our pal Al Sacco make mention of the app this morning, I just had to get myBoxTone Expert up and running on my BlackBerry Bold. Continue reading after the jump for a whole lot more on this excellent enterprise application.

[ note from Kevin: No CrackBerry Podcast this week, but at least we've got Podcast co-host and BlackBerry Expert Craig Johnston coming at you on the blogs! Thanks Craig!! ]

There have been a lot of BlackBerry Bold reviews done over the last few months. All have been great reviews that show off the features of the BlackBerry Bold. All of these reviews are excellent in their own way and very useful, however I wanted to concentrate on what a business user would gain by purchasing a BlackBerry Bold over another BlackBerry model.

What specifically would the business person gain and how would that benefit them.