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I thought long and hard not about the contents of this article, but about the title. While sure to generate some controversy, this is what I believe to be the case. My personal opinion is that the current implementation of Direct Push overall is better than RIM’s BlackBerry device where it comes to push mail access on Microsoft Exchange. In fact, I consider Direct Push to be superior to any of the other offerings on the market when it comes to using Exchange as a backend mail server.
As it is, the BlackBerry is still very much a de facto standard in the push mail market which it created practically single-handedly. Hence we have this little comparison with it, and the corresponding title – “ How is Microsoft’s Direct Push better than the BlackBerry?”
Because we don’t live in a world of black and white, I have decided to segregate the discussion on the various features into three distinct parts in which I categorize certain features in which Direct Push is superior, inferior, and where it is competitive with the BlackBerry. I must qualify that I have previously used both a 7290 and a 7730 with both BIS as well as with BES 4.0/Exchange 2003. I am interested if you have any feedback or comments regarding features that I might have inadvertently missed.
Scalability
Microsoft might have got into the push mail playing field relatively late. However, with the improvements in Direct Push which is being built directly into Exchange 2003 SP2, it offers superior scalability in terms of the number of handheld clients that can be supported per server. Read here about how Direct Push works if you have not done so yet.
Anecdotal evidence from a Microsoft staffer indicates that they have internally deployed and are supporting over 45,000 Windows Mobile devices using this technology already. That was end-2005 – probably on a pre-release version of Direct Push and Exchange SP2. These handhelds are supported on a total of two dual-processor Pentium Servers with 2GB of RAM each. I am unsure at this point of the implementation architecture as the link on a public white paper pertaining to it was broken. However, extrapolating from Exchange’s rather heavy-duty requirements itself, it is likely that these two servers are only serving the Windows Mobile devices and do not run the mail-handling portion of Exchange itself. (I have sent in an Email enquiring about the missing white paper – hope I get a reply soon!)
The minimum requirements for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) version 4.1 – which is required to link-up Exchange with the Blackberry handheld in an enterprise, is quite different. The systems requirements for the BES is pegged at a minimum of a dual-processor Pentium with 4GB of RAM for a 2,000 device setup. You can find systems requirements page for the BES here.
There is no mention of scalability beyond 2000 BlackBerry devices; though I am pretty sure that more devices can be added with some sort of clustering or manually partitioning the clients to be supported per BES. However, even assuming a linear scalability for the BES, 45,000 clients looks set to require over 20 BES boxes. It is clear here that a Direct Push implementation wins hands-down here.
Implementation Cost
You can try to accuse Microsoft of being a monopolist on this, but the fact is that if you already use Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 or are planning to migrate to it, the TCO is extremely compelling due to the fact that Direct Push technology is already built into Exchange.
All other push mail solutions that I am aware of on an enterprise level – including the BES, that runs off an Exchange server, all require a separate per-device licensing fee of some sort. With Direct Push on the other hand, there is absolutely no additional cost. This translates immediately into an unbeatable total cost of ownership (TCO) and significantly less complication when it comes to managing the licensing.
True Remote Mailbox Access
There has been earlier complains about Microsoft’s AUTD in which users complain that read status of Emails are not synchronized properly back to Exchange. Happily, this is no longer the case with Direct Push and Exchange SP2. Direct Push now offers complete access to your entire Exchange mailbox, read status and moving of mails into subfolders are synchronized immediately be it reading your mail on your handheld (Handheld updates Exchange) or using your Outlook client at your desktop (Exchange updates handheld).
With the BlackBerry on the other hand, you are limited to the most recent 1000 Emails. In this regard, Direct Push offers superior access, giving you the option to synchronize your entire Exchange mailbox if so desired. Every single mail can be made accessible, not just new ones. The best part is that even if you opt not to synchronize your entire mailbox, all folders are nevertheless still accessible to the user while on the road. If you need something, simply select the appropriate folder and synchronize away.
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