RIM Preps Enterprise Customers With BB 10 Ready Program

Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry 10 Ready Program, designed to address the needs of BlackBerry enterprise customers as they prepare their environments for the launch of BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, its new multiplatform enterprise mobility management solution.

The program will be introduced in a phased approach with four components. Two of the components — The BlackBerry 10 Ready Offer and the BlackBerry 10 Ready Webcast Series — are available immediately. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server License Trade Up and BlackBerry 10 Readiness Services components will be available ahead of the global BlackBerry 10 launch on Jan. 30, 2013.

BlackBerry 10 Ready Offer
BlackBerry customers with BlackBerry Technical Support at the Advantage level or higher are eligible to receive a free BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Customers will need to install and run BlackBerry Mobile Fusion (which will be succeeded by BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10), and successfully complete an online learning course to qualify. Upon the launch of BlackBerry 10, the organization will receive a free BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

BlackBerry 10 Webcast Series
The weekly BlackBerry 10 webcast series is designed to share information, answer questions about RIM's enterprise product portfolio, and prepare enterprise customers with the tools they need ahead of launch. The webcasts will be supported in multiple languages.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server License Trade Up
RIM will be offering customers who purchase BlackBerry 10 smartphones the ability to trade up their existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server licenses on a one-for-one basis for free until Dec. 31, 2013. The license trade up offer will allow customers to secure and manage their BlackBerry 10 smartphones with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. Customers will be able to access an online tool for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server License Trade Up in January 2013.

BlackBerry 10 Readiness Services
This set of services will provide customers with a smooth migration path to BlackBerry 10. Change management and planning migration tools, and application development services will be available in January 2013.