What is BES?
BlackBerry Enterprise Server is a wireless email solution designed for businesses with Microsoft® Exchange or Lotus® Domino™ server environments. It includes both desktop software and Enterprise Server software that work together to seamlessly manage the link between the handheld devices and corresponding email accounts.

Benifits:

Wireless Message Status Updates
Status of e-mail messages is kept in constant synchronization with the e-mail server. The status (read, unread, deleted and/or moved) of a message will always be the same whether the user is at his desktop or using his BlackBerry.

Remote Address Lookup
BlackBerry users will be able to lookup contact information that is stored in Outlook in real-time from almost anywhere. Your staff will never be without crucial contact information again.

Integrated Attachment Viewing
This allows users to view Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, WordPerfect and text files on the BlackBerry handheld. These file formats are some of the most common ones exchanged in business today. With BES, your staff will be able to use all of these data formats while they are out in the field.

Wireless Calendar Synchronization
Updates to your company’s Outlook calendar are kept up-to-date in real-time on your fleet of BlackBerry handhelds. This will make your organization adaptable to scheduling changes that arise.

Redirector or BES?
All BlackBerry devices require some sort of program or service to forward email from the mailbox to the wireless network provider and thus to the device. The act of copying and forwarding email is called "redirection". One example of a redirector is the BlackBerry Desktop Redirector, a program that runs on your personal computer, monitoring your Exchange mailbox and redirecting a copy of each of the new messages it finds. A redirector can also be a large, multiuser server that does the same for many people's mailboxes at once.

Why you should have a BES account

*With the Desktop Redirector; Your desktop computer must be running the Desktop Redirector and be logged into the Exchange server at all times. Simply turning the computer on is not sufficient, as the Desktop Redirector cannot be installed as a service; it must run as a desktop application. Using the BES Redirector frees you from this.

*The BES Redirector; provides features that you can't get through the Desktop Redirector:

+ Global Address List lookups: Non-BES users can only do lookups in the address book kept on the device itself. For GAL lookup instructions, see the Knowledge Base document With a BlackBerry at IU, how do I search for an address in the Exchange GAL?
+ Wireless calendar synchronization: Non-BES users must cradle to synchronize their calendars. For more information, see the Knowledge Base document With a BlackBerry, how do I reconcile my email, calendar, and other data?
+ Attachment rendering: Non-BES users cannot receive attachments.
+ Wireless password reset: Non-BES users cannot reset their passwords remotely.
+ The BES service allows for centralized management of BlackBerry accounts.