<p>As government agencies move e-mail to cloud-based systems, one of the bigger challenges is linking mobile devices, especially BlackBerry smart phones.</p><p>The Environmental Protection Agency grappled with moving BlackBerry users to the cloud as the agency transitioned 25,000 employee mailboxes -- including about 4,500 BlackBerry phones -- to Microsoft Office 365 for Government, said Lynn Singleton, director of environment services for Lockheed Martin.</p><p>EPA officials brought in Lockheed Martin in September 2012 to assist in the migration of e-mail along with other mail-related components such as calendars, rooms and resources, groups, mail and databases. The move from a 15-year old enterprise Lotus Notes e-mail system to Office 365 is expected to save the EPA approximately $12 million over the four-year contract period.</p><p>"The challenge with BlackBerrys is that [users] might be out in areas where there is no service," Singleton said. To prepare for the transition, IT administrators have to remotely connect with the BlackBerry phones so the devices can be "wiped and cleaned." Then the BlackBerry user gets new activation codes, which lets them download a new e-mail operating system. Sometimes this process can be interrupted if the cell phone signal is weak, causing a failure in the download, Singleton noted.</p><p><a href="http://gcn.com/articles/2013/03/18/tips-moving-blackberry-email-cloud.aspx">Keep reading...</a></p>