Sad to hear, a prestige university said it will cut ties with BlackBerry. Purdue University stated it will no longer support Exchange synchronization with BlackBerry devices. Let’s hope we don’t see this trend across universities world wide.
Purdue University:
Purdue University has continued to see a decline in BlackBerry devices using its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) since Jan. 1, 2011, and, after Dec. 31, 2012, will no longer support Exchange synchronization with BlackBerry devices.
The combination of a 33-percent decrease in BES use, a subsequent increase in per-unit cost and a proliferation of the use of non-BlackBerry devices influenced the decision.
“Allowing a full two-year cycle prior to discontinuation offers the maximum opportunity for personal BlackBerry users to replace their devices through individual cellular service providers,” says Mike Rubesch, ITaP executive director of systems and operations.
If a faculty or staff member currently uses a University-provided BlackBerry for campus business, the University will replace the device with a non-BlackBerry device as it comes up for renewal.
All users currently reading email on and synchronizing Exchange calendar and contacts information to a BlackBerry device will not be affected until Dec. 31, 2012. After that date, faculty and staff using personal BlackBerrys will only be able to connect to Exchange email through BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) — the same service allowing connection to personal email. However, BIS will not support calendar or contacts synchronization with Exchange.
ActiveSync-capable smart phones — such as iPhone, Android or Windows devices — support full Exchange synchronization without requiring additional hardware, software or licensing costs. More than 8,000 such devices currently synchronize with Purdue’s Exchange, compared to 284 BlackBerry devices, down by more than 300 since January 1, 2011.
Via loopinsight