Disaster Recovery Strategies for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution

Transcription

1 Disaster Recovery Strategies for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution An Overview

2 Contents Audience... 1 Purpose... 1 Introduction to disaster recovery planning... 1 Key considerations in disaster recovery planning... 1 Define your disaster situation... 2 Cost of disaster preparedness... 3 Understand the goal of your disaster recovery plan... 4 Recovery timeline... 4 Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery... 5 Possible phased recovery approach 1: Service recovery... 5 Possible phased recovery approach 2: Prioritized user functionality recovery... 6 Possible phased recovery approach 3: Service and prioritized functionality recovery... 7 Best practices for disaster recovery planning for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution... 9 Set user expectations... 9 Store an updated list of PIN numbers... 9 Implement alerting and monitoring procedures... 9 Using BlackBerry as a disaster recovery tool... 9 Analyze how BlackBerry is used in your organization... 9 Plan for access to backup BlackBerry wireless devices...10 General best practices for disaster recovery planning...10 Document your network architecture and processes...10 Identify replacement worker skills...10 Summary...11 Additional information...11 Appendix A: Disaster recovery terminology...12

3 Audience 1 Audience This document is aimed at network architects and BlackBerry Enterprise Solution designers. It assumes a working knowledge of the following areas: BlackBerry Enterprise Server software installation, configuration, administration, and architecture business continuity strategy planning disaster recovery and backup planning Purpose Security concerns and disaster recovery strategies have risen to the top of the agenda for many businesses. In addition, many organizations view their BlackBerry Enterprise Solution as an integral part of their IT infrastructure. As a result, having a disaster recovery plan in place for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is just as important as having a plan for other critical corporate applications and servers. The purpose of this document is to provide potential disaster recovery planning and strategies for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution environment. It provides a potential framework for decision-making about the recovery of critical BlackBerry Enterprise Solution components and users and discusses the role that BlackBerry can play in a disaster situation. Links at the end of this document provide more in-depth information on specific technical issues related to backups and recovery of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Note: See Appendix A: Disaster recovery terminology on page 12 for a list of many disaster recovery terms and definitions that are used throughout this document. Introduction to disaster recovery planning No organization should be without a plan of how to function when business-as-usual is disrupted. Business continuity, or the ability to continue operating in situations where critical components have failed, is essential in today s competitive environment. Planning for potential disruptions, no matter how remote they might seem, is a smart business strategy. The loss of BlackBerry connectivity can result in confusion and frustration for BlackBerry users who have come to rely on the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Communicating service status expectations before and during crisis situations is integral to maintaining an organization s confidence in the integrity of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Key considerations in disaster recovery planning Before creating or modifying an existing disaster recovery plan, consider the following key areas and critical considerations: Key area Current disaster recovery plan Considerations Does your organization have a disaster recovery plan? If so, is it current? Does the current disaster recovery plan include provisions for recovering components or your entire BlackBerry Enterprise Solution? Has the current BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery plan been tested? If so, and changes were required following testing, were the necessary changes implemented? Does your organization have a disaster recovery team? If so, are they familiar with the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution and its components, as well as the disaster recovery plan as it relates to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution?

4 Define your disaster situation 2 Key area Types of disasters Timeframe for recovery from a disaster Critical BlackBerry Enterprise Solution components, users and services to recover Current use of BlackBerry to conduct business Considerations What type(s) of situation(s) represent(s) a disaster in your business environment? What are the critical BlackBerry Enterprise Solution components or processes that must continue to operate for your business to survive a disaster? Does your organization need different disaster recovery plans based on different types and levels of disasters that could affect your overall BlackBerry Enterprise Solution or its components? How long does your organization expect to spend recovering its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution? How long can it afford to spend doing so? Has your organization communicated expectations to its BlackBerry users regarding partial or complete disruptions and unavailability of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution following a disaster? Does the timeframe for recovery of components or your entire BlackBerry Enterprise Solution differ based on the severity of the disaster? Is there a point of diminishing returns for recovery of your BlackBerry Enterprise Solution? What BlackBerry Enterprise Solution components, services and users must your organization recover following a disaster? Has your organization prioritized its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution users and services? Has your organization fully documented its Blackberry Enterprise Solution users and services? Does the prioritization of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution components, services and users that you want to recover change based on the type of disaster? How is the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution currently used in your organization? How can BlackBerry be used as a communication service in the event of a disaster? Define your disaster situation When thinking about disaster recovery planning, consider the wide range of scenarios that might affect your organization, and in turn, your BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Disasters can have effects that impact an organization, its users, facilities and equipment, all on different levels. Plan accordingly for all types of disaster scenarios. The following chart lists potential types of disasters and possible contingency plan considerations. Level of impact Global Impacts all members or all components of the organization. Description of disaster (relating to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution) Loss of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution software, components or services that impacts all BlackBerry users in the organization and potentially the organization s ability to conduct business via the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Possible contingency plan considerations Third parties not familiar with your organization and its network architecture and systems may be required for the recovery process. Recovery could occur offsite at a remote location.

5 Define your disaster situation 3 Level of impact Regional Impacts some members or some components of the organization. Individual Impacts one member or one component of the organization. Description of disaster (relating to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution) Loss of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution software, components, or services that impacts some BlackBerry users within the organization and potentially their or the organization s ability to do business via the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Loss of a critical BlackBerry wireless device, referred to as personal disaster. Depending on the importance of the user or the sensitivity of the information the device contains, this situation can have serious consequences. Possible contingency plan considerations Prepare for failover systems in strategic remote locations to take over when primary systems fail. Staff remote locations reliably and appropriately. Prepare for wireless provisioning that might occur from long distance or at an inconvenient time. Make plans for emergency acquisition and authenticated enterprise activation ahead of time. See Plan for access to backup BlackBerry wireless devices on page 10 for more information. Make plans for remote wiping of BlackBerry wireless devices, if necessary. Communicate these plans to key personnel in advance. Given that disasters can affect organizations on a global, regional, or individual level, it makes sense to create different disaster recovery plans for each of type of situation. As a suggestion, you may approach this issue by mapping out different scenarios that could negatively impact your business and approach your planning and reaction strategy based on the situations that you perceive as the following: riskiest most likely to occur (or have already occurred) most difficult (financial or time cost) from which to recover most damaging to business continuity having the widest-reaching and most costly organizational impact Note: Your organization might have vastly different or additional scenarios to consider based on mitigating factors related to how you conduct business, what functions you want to recover most quickly, and to which users. Cost of disaster preparedness Disasters that occur without warning can cause an enormous amount of damage to an organization; however, constantly maintaining a high level of readiness can also be expensive and time-consuming. Warning time is generally available for disasters, such as hurricanes, but rarely for other devastating events, such as an unexpected accident or power disruption that negatively impacts the organization. Your organization needs to consider the cost of preparedness in creating its disaster recovery strategy.

6 Understand the goal of your disaster recovery plan 4 Risk to organization associated with the impact of the disaster on various levels of the organization Understand the goal of your disaster recovery plan A disaster recovery plan is a strategy that typically covers the hardware, software, human resources, and communication channels that are required to run critical business applications and processes during a disaster situation. The goal of most disaster recovery plans is, ultimately, business continuity. Realistically, business-asusual might not be immediately possible, depending on the scope of the disaster. Consider the following potential intermediate goals as you strive to return to a business-as-usual state: recovering processes recovering data recovering equipment recovering any combination of processes, data and equipment in a phased approach until business-as-usual is reached Recovery timeline The timeline for recovery becomes critical with a more serious disaster and the possible resulting BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption that could ensue. Consider what you want the outcome of your disaster recovery plan to be. How fully do you want or need to recover from the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption? How quickly do you want or need to recover from the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption? The answer to these questions can help determine your course of action. In addition, use of a phased approach when faced with a major BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption or a situation that impacts a large number of BlackBerry users in your organization may also be an approach worth considering. See Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery on page 4 for more information. Often, there is a correlation between the amount of time that passes and the degree of functionality that you recover. Generally, it takes a greater period of time to recover greater levels of functionality. Only you can decide where the point of diminishing returns exists for your organization.

7 Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery 5 Correlation between the timeline for recovery and the degree of functionality that is recovered Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery If a major BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption occurs (for example, all BlackBerry users in the organization are negatively impacted or business activities are restricted or immobilized), consider using a phased disaster recovery approach. The phased approach that you select depends on your business environment and your timeline for recovery from the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption. Many organizations implement a policy to ensure that key contact information for the employees who would act as leaders in a recovery effort are shared amongst that group. Having this information facilitates communication during the earliest (and most important) phases of a recovery effort. Possible phased recovery approach 1: Service recovery The overriding goal when employing this approach is to make sure that all the organization s BlackBerry users regain BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services, without respect to time. When to use this approach This approach is likely best suited to the recovery of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services when one or more of the following conditions are true: time is not a factor in recovery your organization has few BlackBerry users your organization has few services to recover When planning a service recovery approach, you are advised to prioritize all existing BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services before a service disruption occurs.

8 Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery 6 An example of the service recovery approach Process of phased approach to service recovery Before a service disruption occurs, an organization should document all its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services that it offers and prioritize those services in order of most to least important. For example, an organization might prioritize its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services in the following way: Prioritization of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services according to level of importance Based on this hypothetical prioritization list, the organization should take the following approach to recovery of service for all its BlackBerry users after the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption occurs: 1. Recover PIN communication. 2. Recover services. 3. Recover calendar services. 4. Recover the BlackBerry Mobile Data Service. 5. Recover the BlackBerry Attachment Service. Possible phased recovery approach 2: Prioritized user functionality recovery The goal of this approach is to provide an organization s prioritized BlackBerry users with functionality before all of the organization s other BlackBerry users. When to use this approach This approach is likely best adopted when one or more of the following conditions are true: time is a factor in overall recovery critical BlackBerry users need to regain service quickly

9 Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery 7 When planning a prioritized functionality recovery approach, you must prioritize your organization s BlackBerry users before a service disruption occurs. Process of phased approach to recovery of availability An example of a prioritized functionality recovery approach Before a service disruption occurs, an organization documents all its BlackBerry users. The organization s BlackBerry users could be potentially prioritized in the following way: CEO, IT staff, and senior management all other BlackBerry users In accordance with the hypothetical prioritization list, after the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption occurs, the organization should perform the following steps to recover functionality for its BlackBerry users: 1. Recover full BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service to the CEO, IT staff, and senior management. 2. Recover full BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service to all remaining users. Note: The prioritization of BlackBerry users may change depending on the disaster or service disruption. For example, it might be more important to give IT members access to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services before management and executives because the IT staff drive the recovery process for the organization s remaining prioritized BlackBerry users. Possible phased recovery approach 3: Service and prioritized functionality recovery This is a hybrid approach that combines recovery of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service with recovery of prioritized functionality for the organization s prioritized BlackBerry users. The goal of this approach is to recover BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service while simultaneously attempting to provide the organization s prioritized BlackBerry users with the requisite degree of functionality before the organization s other BlackBerry users. When to use this approach This approach is likely best suited to situations where an organization s prioritized BlackBerry users need to recover access to selected BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services quickly. When planning a hybrid approach to the recovery of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services and functionality for prioritized BlackBerry users, you should prioritize the following information: your organization s current prioritized BlackBerry users as well as considering potential changes to that group of prioritized users depending on the type of disaster and/or BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption your organization s BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services Note: To allow this approach to be effective, it requires that you understand the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services that your organization s BlackBerry users are currently accessing and that you prioritize those users. In addition, as noted above, it is important to remember that the prioritization of BlackBerry users may change depending on the disaster or service disruption. For example, it might be more important to give IT members

10 Possible phased approaches to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution disaster recovery 8 access to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services before management and executives because the IT staff drive the recovery process for the organization s remaining prioritized BlackBerry users. Process of hybrid phased approach to recovery An example of the hybrid approach to recovery of service and functionality for prioritized users Before a service disruption occurs, an organization should document all of its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services that it offers and all of its BlackBerry users. Next, the organization should then prioritize its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services in order of most to least important, which could be done in the following way: Prioritization of BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services according to level of importance In addition, the organization should also prioritize its BlackBerry users (and user groups) from most important to least important. For example, in determining priority, an organization could be broken down as follows: CEO, IT staff, and senior management all other users After the service disruption occurs, the organization should attempt to restore the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services in accordance with its priority ratings and prioritized BlackBerry users. Based on the example above, the organization should perform the following steps to recover BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services and functionality for its prioritized BlackBerry users: 1. Recover PIN communication and to the CEO, IT staff, and senior management. 2. Recover PIN communication and to all remaining BlackBerry users. 3. Recover calendar services, BlackBerry Mobile Data Service, and BlackBerry Attachment Service functionality to the CEO, IT staff, and senior management. 4. Recover calendar services, BlackBerry Mobile Data Service, and BlackBerry Attachment Service functionality to all remaining BlackBerry users.

11 Best practices for disaster recovery planning for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution 9 Best practices for disaster recovery planning for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution The following are some best practices for consideration when developing a disaster recovery strategy for your organization s BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Set user expectations Manage your organization s BlackBerry user expectations accordingly. The loss of BlackBerry connectivity can result in confusion and frustration for users who have come to rely on the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Communicating service status expectations before and during BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruptions is integral to maintaining an organization s confidence in the integrity of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. Store an updated list of PIN numbers Keep an updated list of the PIN numbers of your organization s BlackBerry users as a precaution in the event a BlackBerry Enterprise Solution service disruption occurs, but does not affect PIN communication, thereby allowing you to send an update message to your BlackBerry users. In addition, you may also need the information to restore information to your users BlackBerry wireless devices. In organizations where devices are passed from user-to-user (whether frequently or infrequently), it is possible that PIN numbers are reused. Therefore, if you do not have a recent backup and you need to restore PIN numbers to devices, you could inadvertently give access to sensitive information to an untrusted source. Note: The frequency with which you backup PIN number information is at the discretion of your organization. Only you can decide how frequently you need to back up this information. Implement alerting and monitoring procedures You should have measures in place to monitor your BlackBerry Enterprise Solution environment and respond to any service disruptions or interruptions. Monitoring and alerting measures are important business tools. Alerting measures allow you to be informed of critical BlackBerry events that require immediate action. Monitoring allows you to gather vital information about your environment and take proactive steps to help prevent unplanned system outages. Note: Third-party software is available to monitor the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and many of its components. For example, in the case of a failed operation, certain third-party software is designed to detect and automatically restart the appropriate functions. Using BlackBerry as a disaster recovery tool BlackBerry is often overlooked as a potential disaster recovery tool. With the proper preparation and planning and in the proper circumstances, BlackBerry can provide an alternative method of communicating with a dispersed user community while an organization attempts to recover from a disaster or general service disruption. Analyze how BlackBerry is used in your organization A contingency plan is designed to minimize the damage caused by a disaster situation. Under the proper circumstances, BlackBerry can be used to potentially mitigate the effects of a disaster or general service disruption by providing an alternative means of communication between users when other methods are unavailable or inefficient. When planning for disaster recovery, consider your organization s current use of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution and its potential use when executing a contingency plan. For example, you might have to perform the following tasks when using BlackBerry in an emergency situation: provide (additional) BlackBerry wireless devices to individuals who are critical to recovery operations prioritize functional recovery of elements of your BlackBerry Enterprise Solution as part of the larger recovery operation

12 General best practices for disaster recovery planning 10 create contingency plans for the interim period leading up to BlackBerry Enterprise Solution functional recovery (for example, setting up PIN communication or pushing out an emergency contact list application) Plan for access to backup BlackBerry wireless devices In a disaster or service disruption, your organization may lose access or contact with all of its existing BlackBerry wireless devices. In addition, the people (potentially not from your organization) who are charged with the task of restoring your network may not have access to a BlackBerry wireless device. In potentially using a BlackBerry wireless device for critical communications, consider implementing a contingency plan to acquire and provision devices in case of a disaster or service disruption. Your contingency plan might involve the following plans: establishing an agreement plan with a wireless service provider to provide and provision BlackBerry wireless devices when needed stockpiling BlackBerry wireless devices at a remote location that your organization can provision and distribute when needed General best practices for disaster recovery planning The suggestions that follow are not specific or restricted to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. They can be useful and applicable in both wireless and wired environments and are considerations that might help your organization in its disaster recovery planning. Your situation, services, users, and network environment may dictate different requirements and responses. Document your network architecture and processes To recover following a disaster, you must know how your system was initially set up and be able to communicate this information to others post-disaster. Make sure that you document your system s architecture and store this documentation in at least one remote location. Disaster conditions Disasters can often cause upheaval and unplanned confusion. Consider that any or all of the following conditions might be true in your organization following a disaster situation: the individual/team that rebuilds your system following a disaster might not be the same one that set it up initially the individual team that set up the system initially might be unavailable for consultation or questions the individual/team rebuilding the system might be unfamiliar with your organization and its usual business practices the rebuilding process might occur from a remote location the rebuilding process might occur under conditions that cause stress and anxiety for the individual/team that rebuilds it Create any documentation with the preceding factors in mind. Include details that seem basic or obvious. The more complete that your network architecture and process documentation is, the better. Note: When writing your recovery documentation, remember that the network architecture might be changed substantially (for example, network traffic may be re-routed or outsourced). Identify replacement worker skills In the event that your system architecture needs to be rebuilt by external people who might be unfamiliar with it and your organization, it is essential that you specify the approximate number of people and the types of skills that are required. That way, if your organization needs to rely on replacement workers to rebuild or repair the system, you have already identified the workers required to complete the task.

13 Summary 11 Summary All organizations should have plans in place for recovery of their systems, services, and resources following a disaster situation or other unexpected service disruption. Many organizations consider the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution as an integral part of their IT infrastructure, so having a disaster recovery plan in place for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is just as important as having a plan for other critical corporate applications and servers. After creating a plan, communicating it and the expectations for recovery to your organization s staff and BlackBerry users is an important part of getting back to business-as-usual. Additional information Visit ml?func=ll&objid=645045&objaction=browse&sort=name for information about the BlackBerry Enterprise Server product documentation. Visit for information about the ongoing webcast series that offers educational seminars about BlackBerry features and functions. Visit for information about the BlackBerry Technical Knowledge Center. Visit for more information on BlackBerry. Visit for more information on Research In Motion.

14 Appendix A: Disaster recovery terminology 12 Appendix A: Disaster recovery terminology Disaster recovery planning definitions are included to establish a common understanding of some of the terms and concepts used in a disaster recovery context. Concept Alerting Business contingency plan Business continuity Disaster Disaster recovery plan Monitoring Personal disaster Recovery Definition A set of processes that inform the administrator that a system is not performing optimally or as expected. A proactive crisis management program, driven by business requirements, to control any significant impact on an organization. The ability of a business to continue operating in situations where critical components have failed. Any situation that prevents an organization from conducting critical business functions in a timely manner. Major disasters include those situations where a majority of users are impacted or where business is severely restricted or immobilized altogether. A strategy that covers the hardware, software, human resources, and communication channels required to run critical business applications and the associated processes to transition smoothly during a disaster. A set of processes that is used to determine whether the system is performing optimally or as expected given certain conditions. A situation that negatively impacts only one member of an organization, but that can have disastrous consequences for other members of the organization or the organization itself. The ability of an organization to detect, react to, and recover from a catastrophic event that impacts service, availability, or both, and results in a full loss of functionality.

15 Appendix A: Disaster recovery terminology 1 Part number: WPS Research In Motion Limited. All Rights Reserved. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion, Always On, Always Connected, the envelope in motion symbol and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. The handheld and/or associated software are protected by copyright, international treaties and various patents, including one or more of the following U.S. patents: 6,278,442; 6,271,605; 6,219,694; 6,075,470; 6,073,318; D,445,428; D,433,460; D,416,256. Other patents are registered or pending in various countries around the world. Please visit for a current listing of applicable patents. This document is provided as is and Research In Motion Limited and its affiliated companies ( RIM ) assume no responsibility for any typographical, technical or other inaccuracies in this document. RIM reserves the right to periodically change information that is contained in this document; however, RIM makes no commitment to provide any such changes, updates, enhancements or other additions to this document to you in a timely manner or at all. RIM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR COVENANTS, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, DURABILITY, TITLE, OR RELATED TO THE PERFORMANCE OR NON- PERFORMANCE OF ANY SOFTWARE REFERENCED HEREIN OR PERFORMANCE OF ANY SERVICES REFERENCED HEREIN). IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THIS DOCUMENTATION, NEITHER RIM NOR ITS AFFILIATED COMPANIES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR CONSULTANTS SHALL BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER BE THEY DIRECT, ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR INDIRECT DAMAGES, EVEN IF RIM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF BUSINESS REVENUE OR EARNINGS, LOST DATA, DAMAGES CAUSED BY DELAYS, LOST PROFITS, OR A FAILURE TO REALIZE EXPECTED SAVINGS. This document might contain references to third party sources of information, hardware or software, products or services and/or third party web sites (collectively the Third-Party Information ). RIM does not control, and is not responsible for, any Third-Party Information, including, without limitation the content, accuracy, copyright compliance, compatibility, performance, trustworthiness, legality, decency, links, or any other aspect of Third-Party Information. The inclusion of Third-Party Information in this document does not imply endorsement by RIM of the Third Party Information or the third party in any way. Installation and use of Third Party Information with RIM's products and services may require one or more patent, trademark or copyright licenses in order to avoid infringement of the intellectual property rights of others. Any dealings with Third Party Information, including, without limitation, compliance with applicable licenses and terms and conditions, are solely between you and the third party. You are solely responsible for determining whether such third party licenses are required and are responsible for acquiring any such licenses relating to Third Party Information. To the extent that such intellectual property licenses may be required, RIM expressly recommends that you do not install or use Third Party Information until all such applicable licenses have been acquired by you or on your behalf. Your use of Third Party Information shall be governed by and subject to you agreeing to the terms of the Third Party Information licenses. Any Third Party Information that is provided with RIM's products and services is provided "as is". RIM makes no representation, warranty or guarantee whatsoever in relation to the Third Party Information and RIM assumes no liability whatsoever in relation to the Third Party Information even if RIM has been advised of the possibility of such damages or can anticipate such damages.