It is needed to be compatible with the newer android phones.
That's not quite a true statement - it is only required if you need/want to have ActiveSync capabilities.
Do a google search for "z-push el5 rpm" as a starting point, if you wish to build a contrib compatible with SME8. You are likely to have a lot of trouble getting non-trivial new contribs working with SME7. I wouldn't bother.