For PINpoint versions 2.6 and above.

We have created these Configuration Worksheets, to help users organize their ideas and assist in the definition of Documents, Collections and Channels.

PINpoint v2.5 introduces a new feature that greatly enhances its value: the ability to "push" documents to BlackBerry devices, in addition to the traditional Contact Lists.

For example, this feature allows clients to ensure they always have access to the latest Emergency Manuals on their BlackBerry handhelds, even if the organization's systems are down or unreachable.

Using the PINpoint Management Console, the system administrator specifies the URL's of the documents to be pushed, and the sequence in which they will be presented on the handheld. Documents are grouped into Collections, which are then mapped to Groups of recipients. Groups are created dynamically by PINpoint, based on each person's attributes, as defined in the organization's BlackBerry server or Corporate Directory (e.g. Microsoft Active Directory or Novell eDirectory).

This design provides simplicity and flexibility, while greatly reducing or even eliminating the need for any additional maintenance, and ensures that users receive only the information that is relevant to them based on, for example, the city or department they work at, their job title, or they membership in specific groups.

For more information, please refer to our 2-page Product Summary, or watch our latest PINpoint videos in

The main feature included with PINpoint v2.2 is the support for Static Groups in addition to Dynamic Groups (which were introduced in PINpoint v2.1).

The application is now able to generate a contact list that is grouped based on predefined static groups. This allows the PINpoint user to further leverage the concept of master/details enabled by the grouping feature. 
 

PINpoint supports 2 types of groups:

• Dynamic Groups, e.g. grouping by City, Department, Manager, Title, Wireless Carrier, etc.
  • Grouping can be enabled by checking the “Grouped List?” checkbox under the Delivery >> Channel tab. Once enabled, PINpoint will create Dynamics Groups.
  • With Dynamic Groups the contacts are grouped according to the value of the first data column displayed in the list.
  • When Dynamic Groups are used, a contact will show up only once in the entire list (even if it belongs to more than one group). 
• Static Groups, e.g. grouping by alternate organizational structure (e.g. IMS/emergency teams), project teams, etc.
  • To use Static Groups check the “Enabled?” checkbox under the Static Groups section in the Delivery >> Channel tab (please note if Grouped List checkbox is not enabled the Static Groups settings are not displayed).
  • Once Static Groups are enabled, the contacts on the output list will be grouped based on the predefined list of Static Groups (defined using the Maintain Static Groups section under Delivery >> Channel).
  • To determine if a particular contact person is part of a Static Group or not, PINpoint uses the value of the first data field displayed on the list and checks if the value contains the Static Group name. The first data field on the list could be replaced with the Static Group name by checking the “Display Group Name” checkbox in the same section.
  • To accommodate contacts that belong to multiple Static Groups, the first data field may contain a delimited list of group names, separated by the token specified in the “Separator Token” textbox.
    • If the “Separator Token” textbox is left blank, PINpoint will use a "starts-with" condition to determine if a contact is a member of a Static Group.
    • If a Separator Token is entered, PINpoint will use a "contains" condition to determine if a contact is a member of a Static Group (e.g. ~StaticGroupName~ contained in the first data field of the list or test if the first field starts with StaticGroupName~).

PINpoint ships with a proof-of-concept for Static Groups, that allows you to create a Glossary-like contacts list out-of-the box. In order to do this follow these steps:

1. Go to Delivery >> Channel
2. Check the “Grouped List?” checkbox
3. Check the “Enabled?” checkbox under the Static Groups section
4. Ensure that “Display Group Names?” checkbox is unchecked
5. Ensure that “Separator Token” textbox is empty
6. Click the “Add Glossary Groups” button
7. Click the “Save” button to persist your changes
8. Ensure that the first column of your list (as defined in Content >> Data Fields) has the data field based on which you want to generate the Glossary (e.g. Name)
9. Go to Recipients >> List of Recipients
10. Click on the view button for one of the recipients to preview the list that will be pushed to that particular recipient.

[NB. for better performance on the handheld, PINpoint ships with the Grouping feature disabled by default (lists without grouping have the smallest footprint)]. 

PINpoint can be configured to use either RIM’s “Push” technology or PAP (Push Application Protocol).

PINpoint ships with a command line utility that can invoke the push engine over HTTP. In order to push the content on a scheduled basis by default PINpoint relies on the Windows Task Scheduler. The command line utility can be run by any other scheduling utility you may currently have in place. In fact, the scheduling utility does not even have to be on the same server as the PINpoint application.

• Delivery >> Channel:
  • Exposed the mapping of design layouts to device models, through the management console.
  • By default all the device models are mapped to the Normal layout, this setting can be overridden through the Management Console.
  • PINpoint displays at run time all the device models defined in the organization’s BES server, and allows the PINpoint Administrator to map each device model to a specific layout.
  • Starting with version 2.1 PINpoint can push grouped lists. By default PINpoint ships with the Grouped List setting disabled. Through the management Console the PINpoint Administrator can enable grouping. Please keep in mind this is a general setting it applies to all existing device models.
  • By default PINpoint ships with the List Headers enabled, if desired the List Headers could be hidden. This feature is exposed through the Management Console, it is a general setting and it applies to all device models.
• Recipients >> List of Recipients:
  • In order to allow a PINpoint Administrator to visualize the list that will be pushed to a specific end user, a View option was add to the recipients list in the management console.
  • By default this option is enabled only on the Management Console, however through settings in the application’s configuration file (web.config) this option can be changed.
• General:
  • Enhanced the way the Pinpoint list is displayed on Bold and Storm devices.

• Content Enhancements:
  • Added support for multiple fields (from 4 fields before, to virtually unlimited now).
  • Hyperlinks can now be created referencing any of the data fields  (e.g {email_address}, {phone}, {department}).
  • Data field overrides now support static and dynamic values.
  • Field definition may include a static prefix in addition to the dynamic data.
  • Option to view and upload images to the application server via Management Console. Stock icons are included.
  • Fields may be flagged as Not Visible if they need to be referenced by a link but hidden from the user.
  • The Content>>Display list on the Mgmt Console displays all the visible fields in the order in which they are rendered on the client side, including column-cell position, and hyperlinks.
  • Five different contact list layouts available (defined as XSLT's).
• Delivery Enhancements:
  • Besides Channel and Message methods, lists can now be pushed directly to cache as Browser Content, i.e. totally transparent to end user.
• Logging Enhancements:
  • Client pull requests are now also logged.
  • Channel deletions are now also logged, whether deleted by end user or by server through management console.

PINpoint Standard Edition is able to collect information and push it to recipients residing in multiple BES/MDS servers, as long as those servers are all part of a single BlackBerry Domain.

In this case PINpoint should be setup to point to the BES/MDS server that is configured as the Master Push server, as it has all the information that PINpoint needs.

If your BES servers are configured as stand-alone (i.e. not part if the same BlackBerry Domain), then you will need to use the Enterprise Edition of PINpoint, and make sure that your IIS application server can see all BES/MDS Servers. Also note that, if you choose to display information from your Corporate Directory, all contacts must be defined in a common LDAP Directory.

Yes. This can be defined through the PINpoint Management Console by changing the mapping of Content Scopes to Recipient Groups.

Multiple mappings are also possible. For example, PINpoint could be configured to only provide users with contacts in their own department, while executives and disaster recovery personnel could be allowed to see contacts across all departments.

Yes. By default, PINpoint displays all contacts to all recipients, i.e. the Content Scope ALL is mapped to the Recipient Group ALL.

The Administrator, through the PINpoint Management Console, could target specific content to specific recipients by defining groups of contacts, and mapping the content to groups of recipients.
 

These selections can be made based on any attribute of the person or device, as defined in your BlackBerry Server or Corporate Directory.

Yes. The PINpoint list that each BlackBerry device receives is an aggregation based on all the Recipient Groups and Content Scopes with whom the user is associated.

For example if a person is an Executive and also a member of the Emergency Team, the person will receive a list that combines all the contacts that apply to both Executives and Emergency staff.

PINpoint itself doesn't have or set a limitation on the size of your contact list. You can push as many rows of contacts as your device or BES/MDS Server will allow.

However, since PINpoint pushes the contact list and stores it in the cache memory of your BlackBerry, it is not recommended to try to cache thousands of contacts, as this might affect your device performance, or you may run out of memory.

For details, please contact us for our reports on BlackBerry device benchmarks.

Yes. Your Administrator can easily target customized contact lists to specific groups of recipients.

For example, Administrators can filter your contacts so that you see only your department, while another user can see the entire organization. This filtering can be done based on attributes of the target device (e.g. cellular carrier, model, memory, etc) or attributes of the person (e.g. department, city, title, etc).

By default PINpoint stores four values for each contact displayed plus the links hidden under each field. By default, these fields are: Full Name, Mobile Phone Number, E-Mail Address and PIN Number.

The Administrator can easily customize PINpoint to provide additional information from BlackBerry Server or from your Corporate Directory. For example, PINpoint can display your contacts' office phone numbers, position titles, departments, or locations.

These information can be presented on the device using different layouts, and combinations of text or icons. The hyperlinks under each field can also be easily customized to, for example, open a map when you click on the zip/postal code of your contact.

No. PINpoint is a corporate application for organizations that use a BlackBerry Server to manage their mobile devices.

No additional maintenance is required.

Once it's configured, PINpoint will automatically collect and deliver the most up-to-date contact lists following the schedule you designated.

PINpoint collect its information from the authoritative sources of data:

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server: this is where your company already activates or deactivates BlackBerry devices.
• Corporate Directory: this is where your company already adds or removes people and organizational data.

By default, PINpoint displays information found on your BlackBerry Server, such as Full Name, Mobile Phone Number, PIN Number and E-Mail Address.

If you want to include additional information, such as other phone numbers, addresses, or departments, the PINpoint Administrator can configure it to retrieve that information from your corporate Directory (e.g. Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, Lotus Notes Directory, or any other standard LDAP directory).

Alternatively, you could use our cDir product to create links from the PINpoint list to perform real-time queries against your Corporate Directory and display information such as title, department, groups, addresses, phones, reporting relationships, photos, etc. Note however that, unlike PINpoint, cDir does require your servers to be accessible (i.e. it is not recommended for BCP or CoOP scenarios).

When you do a BlackBerry lookup, your device needs to contact your BlackBerry Server. If your server or network become unavailable, for whatever reason, this information is not available and the lookup will fail.

PINpoint stores the entire PIN list in your BlackBerry's cache memory. With PINpoint you can keep in touch, even during outages and emergencies.

Every BlackBerry ever manufactured has a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) embedded in it. This unique number stays with the device regardless of who the user is.

PIN messaging is essentially Instant Messaging for BlackBerrys, that uses this PIN identifier to address and deliver text messages. Unlike email, which relies on your own messaging servers to function, PIN messaging is routed and delivered by the global RIM infrastructure, without relying on your IT infrastructure.

This characteristic is what makes PIN messaging a great communications option for Business Continuity Plans (BCP, also known as CoOP Continuity of Operations Plans).

Tenet's PINpoint is the tool that ensures that your users always have the latest list of contacts and their device PINs, to ensure communications may continue even during a major emergency.