Mimecast offers guaranteed email for BlackBerry users

Mimecast claims to be the first to guarantee email connectivity for BlackBerry handsets

BlackBerry users could benefit from a new service from email management firm Mimecast that claims to be the first to guarantee email availability at all times by hosting messages in the cloud.

The firm said that the Mimecast Continuity Service can bypass the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) or Microsoft Exchange during any outages to ensure that messages can always be sent or received.

"The service works by sending mails directly from our cloud architecture to users' devices, rather than through the exchange services or BES, to ensure that they can always access their emails," said Peter Bauer, chief executive of Mimecast.

"Once the outage is over and messages may be sent through again that may have been caught in the system during downtime, the programme automatically removes any duplications of messages."

Bauer said that Mimecast will bring the service to Android and iPhone handsets later in the year.

The system is available as a one-off purchase for £20 to £30 per user per year in a bundled format for organisations, but Bauer said that it had been designed to complement the company's existing portfolio of email management services.

He also explained that the software needs to be installed on the sending and receiving handsets because an outage could be affecting either user. Emails could still be sent to a PC not using the Mimecast software.

The firm has already been beta testing the product with customers, and Tim Hyman, IT director at law firm Taylor Wessing, claimed that the service had already proved beneficial.

"The development of a robust BlackBerry system means our lawyers will be able to access their email from the device they favour, virtually eliminating the inconvenience and productivity loss of email downtime," he said.

The Mimecast Continuity Service for the BlackBerry Wireless Solution is currently on display at Infosec 2010, and Bauer confirmed that the firm will beta test with new customers before the official release in July.