Press Release

November 16, 2004

Epoch Integration Introduces New Automated Network Management Tool, NeedTEXT® Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Toronto, ON - Epoch Integration, an IT solutions provider for wireless infrastructure, today announced the release of NeedTEXT® Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server™, a dedicated system management solution for monitoring and managing BlackBerry Enterprise Server from Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM).

NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server is designed to provide IT administrators with enhanced management capabilities for their BlackBerry® infrastructure as an enterprise application. Benefits include:

• Maximizing availability by proactive and continuous monitoring of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and alerting administrators to events that could cause an interruption
• Capturing critical system and user performance statistics that can be used for analysis, optimization and performance tuning of the BlackBerry solution
• Increasing IT efficiency by automating BlackBerry administrative tasks that today need to be manually performed.

Key Features

Through its automated health monitoring and alert notification, NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server is constantly monitoring:

• The operational state of all BlackBerry Enterprise Server NT services.
• Connectivity between BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry service infrastructure and between BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the enterprise email server.
• Administrator-defined event thresholds for monitored components, enabling the application to identify trends that may cause the system problems
• The performance of the host NT platform (CPU load, memory utilization, available disk space).

If a problem should occur, the system gives immediate notification via an alert message and visual cue, in many cases often before BlackBerry users notice a problem.

“As BlackBerry Enterprise Server has already been deployed on approximately 30,000 servers and is being used by IT departments to enable secure, wireless access to email and a growing range of corporate data applications, we believe that Epoch’s NeedTEXT Monitor will be a welcome tool for IT managers looking to maximize their BlackBerry ROI,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion.

NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server gathers critical server and user performance statistics, allowing for performance optimization and simplification of administrative tasks.   Administrators now can:

• Compile message traffic statistic reports to analyze usage trends and system load statistics, facilitating load-balancing initiatives.
• Generate user lists across all BlackBerry Enterprise Server deployments and sort them by key criteria such as PIN, name, or date of last message forwarded.
• Quickly determine which server a specific end user belongs to, and their usage level.

“As a Managed Service Provider, we are in search of solutions that allow us to deliver high availability services to our customers.” said Ed Butterworth, VP, Business Solutions at Broadsword, an MSP from London,UK. “With NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server, we have found a solution that helps us ensure that our customers maximize their investments in BlackBerry.”

In addition, NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server is built upon a Web-based architecture, aggregating the health status of multiple servers into a single management console. Dashboard-style displays give administrators an easy-to-read, at-a-glance view of the health of their BlackBerry systems.  

“Our goal for NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server was to create a smart, efficient and cost-effective tool for IT staff to proactively maintain their BlackBerry systems,” said Ramon Tavares, president of Epoch Integration. 

System Requirements

NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server requires Windows NT/2000/XP or Linux.   It monitors BlackBerry Enterprise Server v.4.0, BlackBerry Enterprise Server v.3.5 and above for Microsoft Exchange, and BlackBerry Enterprise Server v.2.2 and above for IBM Lotus Domino.

Pricing and Availability

NeedTEXT Monitor for BlackBerry Enterprise Server is now available. Pricing starts at USD $2,599 for a Small Business Edition.  Visit www.needtext.net/besmon to download more information, including a free 15-day evaluation copy of the software.

About Epoch Integration

Epoch has been delivering BlackBerry solutions for more than four years. A registered member of the BlackBerry ISV Alliance Program, Epoch specializes in providing wireless access and monitoring solutions to manage BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Epoch Integration is a leading designer, developer and marketer of network management solutions for the worldwide infrastructure software market.   The company's products, including the popular NeedTEXT suite, give information technology professionals the ability to manage their networks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company currently provides network management solutions to such high-profile customers as Raytheon Missile Systems and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in addition to small and medium-sized businesses around the globe. Founded in 1997, Epoch Integration is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Please visit www.epochintegration.com.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries.