Google Apps Connector For BES

As you may know I have been exploring Google Apps Premiere edition for an email solution.

Recently Google finally completed the final step necessary to move over to a pure Google Apps Email environment called Google Apps Connector for Blackberry Enterprise Server for an office that uses BlackBerrys.

Get the benefits of Google Apps with the BlackBerry experience you’re already accustomed to. Integrate the Google Apps messaging suite with BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), letting employees use built-in BlackBerry applications for access to their Google Apps email, calendar, and contacts.

Some people have explained to me that you can get all the benefits of Google Apps today without a BES connection. I patiently agree, but this is a stop gap at best to true native BlackBerry support. I explained I wanted native email inbox drops, native calendar support, and native contacts management – now I can with the Google Apps connector. The ideal solution allows the ability to get a brand new blackberry and sign into the enterprise activation area and have a working synced device ready to go in as much time as the initial sync. takes.

That is where we run into trouble.

You see, most enterprise configurations have either an onsite Exchange Server and BES running, or a hosted Exchange Server with BES. Under a local scenario we could simply leave the BES running and use Google Apps.

For this to be a truly redundant, backed up, and fail safe option (I know this is impossible – but less of a problem than onsite) I am looking to have a Blackberry Enterprise Server hosted in the cloud – then use the Google Apps Connector.

So far nobody has the answer – but I have made some progress.

Option 1: AWS – Amazon Web Services
Setup an EC2 instance running Blackberry Enterprise Server and run the Google Apps Connector that way

Option 2: Hosted solution (RackSpace or some other provider)
This would be a managed host that sets up BES and then allows me to run Google Apps Connector

Option 3: Google
They come up with some solution

I think there is an opportunity here to setup instances of servers running BES that allow people the customizations they want. Right now, all managed email hosting solutions want to sell you a white label email solution or an MS Exchange box. These are both options I am looking to avoid.

Conclusion:
I need a hosted server able to run BES, that allows control to put on Google Apps Connector. This seems to be uncharted territory, even for seasoned Google Apps transfer providers. I hope that someone comes across this post and can provide some insight into this problem.

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Tags: blackberry, BlackberryEnterpriseServer, Google Apps, Google Apps Connector, Microsoft Exchange Server