BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES)

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) Redirector is a billed service offered by UITS to Indiana University faculty and staff. With a BES data plan you purchase from your cellular provider, the IU BES Redirector service enables full access to your IU Exchange email account (including mail, calendar, tasks, etc.) from your BlackBerry device.

How email redirection works

A BlackBerry device requires a special data plan (from your cellular provider) and a redirector to forward email from your mailbox to the wireless network provider and then to your device. Two options for redirectors are available:

• The BlackBerry Desktop Redirector runs on your personal computer, monitoring your mailbox and redirecting a copy of each new message it finds.
  
  
• A redirector can also be a server that does the same for many people's mailboxes at once. At Indiana University, UITS provides a large enterprise solution, the BES Redirector, for those with an Exchange account.
  

Advantages of using the IU BES

For the following reasons, UITS recommends that you use the IU BES Redirector rather than the Desktop Redirector:

• If you use the Desktop Redirector, your computer must be running the Desktop Redirector and be logged into the mail 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 IU BES Redirector (again, only if you have an Exchange account) frees you from this constraint.
  
  
• The IU BES service allows for centralized management of BlackBerry accounts, which can help UITS quickly troubleshoot and fix problems.
  
  
• The IU BES Redirector provides features unavailable through the Desktop Redirector:
  
  
  • Global Address List (GAL) lookups: Using the Desktop Redirector, you can do lookups only in the address book kept on the device itself.
    
    
  • Wireless data synchronization: If you use the Desktop Redirector, you must cradle your BlackBerry to synchronize your data (e.g., calendar, contacts, tasks), but the IU BES allows wireless synchronization.
    
    
  • Attachment rendering: Not possible with the Desktop Redirector
    
    
  • Wireless password reset: The Desktop Redirector does not provide for remote password reset.
    

How to get an account

The information below applies to BES accounts purchased by IU departments for their employees. Individuals can purchase their own IU BES accounts if the need arises.

Your department's telecommunications coordinator must authorize the request for a departmentally purchased account on the BES Redirector service at IU. Your coordinator will need your username and the departmental account number for billing in order to make the request.

At Indiana University Bloomington, if you do not know who your telecommunications coordinator is, complete this online form. Select faculty or staff, and click Continue. Click No, and then Continue again. From the menu for the service you're interested in, select the name of your department. Your coordinator's contact information will then appear.

To request the account, coordinators should send the individual's name, email address, and account number to commreq@indiana.edu .

How to cancel your account

To cancel your IU BES account, send email to commreq@iu.edu requesting disconnection from the IU BES.