RIM Debuts BB10 Technical Preview Program Across Multiple Industries

Research in Motion's new BlackBerry 10 Technical Preview program gives selected enterprise and government customers the opportunity to begin beta testing with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and pre-production BlackBerry 10 smartphones. The invitation-only program begins immediately, with more than 120 select customers enrolled, spanning a variety of industries including financial, government, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, media and distribution. The group includes 64 Fortune 500 companies.

The technical preview program will give organizations early access to RIM's new enterprise mobility management solution, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, along with a limited number of pre-production BlackBerry 10 smartphones for testing within their environment.

"Beginning today, RIM will be visiting some of our enterprise and government 'early adopters' and getting them started with the BlackBerry 10 platform," said Robin Bienfait, chief information officer, RIM.

"We've been anxiously waiting to put our hands on BlackBerry 10, and the time has come," said John R. Delano, CIO, Integris Health. "BlackBerry has been a trusted partner for many years, and we're excited to see what the next generation of BlackBerry solutions offers. We know we can rely on the security and manageability that BlackBerry offers, and we're looking forward to adding 'fun' to the list of benefits."

Customers will have first-hand experience with features such as BlackBerry Balance, the BlackBerry Hub, the ability to seamlessly flow between core applications, the dedicated enterprise app store and the BlackBerry 10 platform's secure connectivity to behind the firewall applications and data through BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

"Getting devices early into the hands of its best and largest enterprise customers confirms the confidence RIM has in its new BlackBerry 10 platform and is an important step leading-up to its launch," said Kevin Burden, director of mobility at Strategy Analytics. "Beyond reinforcing its commitment to those loyal to the BlackBerry platform's future, the program stands to deliver valuable real-world feedback from multiple industries before RIM takes the platform live."