getProductImageIf you have downloaded the app and are wondering why the alerts don’t go off for your BES/BlackBerry Balance work e-mail account you have set up, then this post may be of interest to you – it will outline the reasons why this happens, as well as how to install public apps into the work perimeter on BlackBerry 10 (with the help of your system admins).

Cause

The main challenge is that with BlackBerry 10, the security model has designed on the basis of a split persona. The device is split down the middle – one side is for work, the other is personal.

These two segregated personas mean that data cannot be transferred from one side to the other – to stop data leakage (copy/paste, saving work files to personal memory, etc.).

Being as you downloaded Emergency Alert from the consumer BlackBerry World, the app can only run on your personal space – as such, the alert can only access your personal email accounts (by personal, I mean POP & IMAP – if you actually use these accounts for work email, then the app should work fine as it is). If your organisation use BES (BDS to use the correct term) for e-mail, the app will not work for these accounts.

So how can I get Emergency Alert to alert me on my work account?

The good news is, that it is certainly possible. The bad news is, it may be out of your hands as to whether or not you can use it.

Your enterprise administrator (or BES admin) essentially needs to allow the app to be installed within the work perimeter – meaning they may have to review the application from a security perspective, and be comfortable with it accessing work data. Depending on the organisation you work for, the security policies will differ greatly.

So how does the administrator enable the app for the work perimeter?

I’ll break this down into several steps:

  1. ADMINISTRATOR: The administrator needs to “Add a public app from the BlackBerry World storefront” 
    1. Open the Admin Guide documentation
    2. Go to page 101 and follow the section “Add a public app from the BlackBerry World storefront”
    3. For step 3, use this link:
      http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/97109
  2. ADMINISTRATOR: Once the public app has been imported successfully, the administrator needs to create a new software configuration, and associate it with the Emergency Alert app imported in the previous step.
    1. Open the Admin Guide documentation
    2. Go to page 102 and follow the section “Create a software configuration”
    3. Once the software configuration has been created, go to page 103 and view the section “Add an app to a software configuration”
  3. ADMINISTRATOR: Once the app has been added to the software configuration, the administrator needs to assign the software configuration to your user account, so that you can access the app from BlackBerry World for Work.
    1. Open the Admin Guide documentation
    2. Go to page 127 and follow the section “Add software configurations to user accounts”
    3. Add the software configuration for Emergency Alert to the user account
  4. YOU! Now it’s your time to shine! Once the updates have been sent down to the device, you need to install the app in the work perimeter.
    1. On the main app grid, swipe down in the middle of the screen and switch to “Work” mode
    2. Launch the BlackBerry World – Work app
    3. Switch tabs to “Public Apps”
    4. Download & install Emergency Alert
    5. Once downloaded, it will only be displayed in the work side of the device (unless you go and download it to the personal side, that’s up to you)
    6. Launch the app and test out a rule – you should find it functions as expected, but this time, with your corporate e-mail!

But I’ve bought it on the Personal BlackBerry World, not BlackBerry World for Work – do I need to buy it again?!

The great news is no – if you have purchased the app via the normal BlackBerry World, it will show as free to download in BlackBerry World for Work, as it is tied to your BlackBerry ID (and vice-versa – if you purchase the app through the public app section in BlackBerry World for Work, you can download it for free on the personal side).

I want to have alerts set up for the Work side and Personal side – is this possible?

As of v2.0.0.0, this functionality is no longer available due to the app supporting background processing. You can use Emergency Alerts in either the Work perimeter or the personal perimeter, but not at the same time (you must ensure you disable background processing, and also to only run one copy of the application).

Work continues to fix this limitation.

Hopefully this will be of use to those who desperately need alerts from the Work perimeter, and BES/BDS admins alike.