Several months ago, RIM launched a Blackberry Enterprise Server Express product targeted squarely at small businesses. It’s a slightly watered-down version of their regular BES product, but it works and it’s free!

We’ve finally had the chance to test it out with a couple customers, and I can tell you that for a small business, the BES Express will do the trick. In case you’re new to this, the Blackberry Enterprise Server is RIM’s product that lets you connect BlackBerry smartphones to your Microsoft Exchange Server for seamless emailing, calendar-contacts-notes-tasks syncing, contacts sharing, meeting and resource booking, etc.. Previously, you had to pay the friendly Canadians $2,999 plus $99 per user fees to use the BES, but RIM is apparently feeling the pressure from ActiveSync and Google, so it started offering the entry-level product for free.  You can even run it right on your Exchange Server (albeit with a 75 user limit), which spares you from any additional infrastructure expenses.

We like it. If you already have Microsoft Exchange, then you have one less reason to wait on getting your email on BlackBerry. If you don’t have Microsoft Exchange, then this is one more reason to finally upgrade. Have questions or want a quote? Email us at info@itmaxgroup.com or call 888-77-ITMAX

To learn more about Blackberry Express on RIM’s website, go here.