RIM's announcement of a software 'virtual BlackBerry' to run on Windows Mobile handsets came as a surprise to many, including me. On the face of it, the move seems difficult to comprehend, as Microsoft's handheld platform is a direct rival for the BlackBerry – even more so when it is coupled with a corporate Exchange Server capable of delivering push email.

However, if RIM's explanation can be believed, the company genuinely seems to be putting the interests of its customers first with the BlackBerry application suite, giving them the ability to manage other handsets as if they were a BlackBerry.

It is a bit of a cliché that the executives in a firm all have BlackBerry handhelds, while other workers have to settle for a less glamorous phone, but there is some reality behind this.

Many organisations have a diverse mobile infrastructure, and according to RIM, IT managers have been telling the company that they would really like to have the same level of control over other devices as they have over their BlackBerry clients.

RIM already enables handsets from other vendors to link with BlackBerry mail servers via its BlackBerry Connect programme, but it appears that this just doesn't deliver everything that business customers want.

"It's not that BlackBerry Connect has been a failure, but there have been differing rates at which BlackBerry technology has been incorporated into third-party handsets," said Tony Cripps, wireless analyst at Ovum.

The solution? Deliver a full BlackBerry environment that can run on other handsets that such customers are using. Of course, you have to ask why RIM picked Windows Mobile, but this is due to the company's mindset as a North American enterprise vendor, according to Cripps, who said we can expect to see versions for other platforms such as Symbian in the future.

However, it could also prove a risky strategy for RIM, as Jason Langridge, Microsoft's mobility business manager for Europe, pointed out in his blog;

"This is an interesting move as it does provide a great opportunity for Lotus Domino or Groupwise users to utilise Windows Mobile devices with their backend infrastructure.  It also underpins Windows Mobile as the platform beyond email and may prove somewhat dangerous to RIM as customers have a very easy path to then switch to native Exchange Direct Push."

In other words, it might provide firms with a painless way to switch from the costly BlackBerry Enterprise Server over to Exchange Server, which includes wireless capabilities at no extra cost.