recent study by Ipsos Reid shows that BlackBerry users are converting 60 minutes of downtime from every workday into productive time for their company. What this means to you is that over the course of a year, each BlackBerry enabled employee will change 250 hours of downtime into work time to drive your company forward.

Early adopters of the BlackBerry technology are already seeing the benefits as their companies grow exponentially by their workers new found time.

What does this mean in terms of hard cash for your company?
The reclaimed time for a typical employee equates to £2,500 each year or £6,250 or more for the typical executive. In a small business of 10 employees, that's a minimum of £25,000 per year of recovered value.

How much business have you lost from reacting too slowly to business proposals?
Up to £74,000 per year the study reveals. BlackBerry provides immediate information and contact which other phone models do not. The average person uses their BlackBerry to process 2,500 time-sensitive emails and 1,200 time-sensitive phones calls every year that cost money if not acted on as soon as possible.

Could your team run more effectively?
The study also shows that when BlackBerry is used in team environments it increases the team efficiency by a further 38%. This result in increased workflow frees even more company time for employees to convert to other business in your company.

What conclusions were drawn from the report?
"These figures bring to light the tangible time saving benefits of BlackBerry," said Charmaine Eggberry, vice president and managing director for RIM in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

"With such clear benefits, mobile professionals can feel confident in choosing BlackBerry for its work/life balance benefits, in order to get the most out of each day."

Surely such a product would cost thousands of pounds?
Nothing could be further from the truth it would seem as the networks battle to acquire the new BlackBerry market. Prices have now plummeted to as low as £3.83 ex VAT per blackberry addition on new mobile phone contracts for business clients. The study also confirms the massive price savings showing a solid return on investment (ROI) after only five months.

Wouldn't BlackBerry be complex to setup and maintain?
Again, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. For individual users or small businesses without a computer server there is a standalone option. This allows you to take advantage of the benefits of BlackBerry, while your provider performs all the system administration on your behalf. This means you don't have to worry about the setup or the maintenance.

Small and medium businesses who own a server and want to keep their company IT security policies, connect to their company emails and sync all their contacts for backup in place are in an even better position as the BlackBerry small server software has just been upgraded.

The new software now loads onto your existing Microsoft small business server, so you no longer have to waste money on a new dedicated server box. For ease of use the software now installs through a user friendly "Wizard" and can support up to 30 BlackBerry users, instead of the previous 15.

Plus, right now you receive over £1,500 worth of software and licensing with your new BlackBerry phones absolutely FREE.
Smart companies are now looking to BlackBerry professional dealerships to help maintain their BlackBerry accounts and provide up to date information and advice.

Who are these BlackBerry professional dealerships?
T-mobile recently announced their BlackBerry Partnership Program with only 3 dealerships in the UK given the elite title of T-Mobile BlackBerry Partners. BusinessMobiles.com, wn1 communications and olive communications were chosen above all other dealerships for their expertise in BlackBerry knowledge, support and service.

I'm not familiar with BlackBerry handsets, what models are available?
The BlackBerry Curve 8310 is the hottest thing in BlackBerry at the moment. Complete with push email delivery, in-built satellite navigation, digital camera, full QWERTY keyboard, multimedia capabilities and an expandable memory slot. It also boasts being the lightest full QWERTY BlackBerry. It certainly is the smartphone for the upcoming professional.

Also available in the BlackBerry range is the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 for the smaller, slimmer handset with all the benefits of BlackBerry packed in and the BlackBerry 8800, a business look for the business executive.

Click here [1] to see a selection of the NEW BlackBerry phones and to find out more.