For large corporates Blackberry is rapidly becoming a business risk. I work at a consulting company with 2000 employees and we are now switching to windows phone. The advantages of BES etc. do not compensate the increased risk that at some point BB might not be able to keep its service reliable.
Agree on those points, but in my eyes it is not a complete device when it fails to deliver in browsing and apps, when the competition is well established in those fields. I have broader needs for a communication device and BB failed to address those needs.
There is fairly little risk in that. The company has $2.6 billion in cash and no debt. The services that you require are extremely profitable and unrelated to the handset division. Also there are far more blackberries out there in use than there are Windows phones. To the extent there is a business to be had supporting them, there will be a company that does that.
But I should have stopped reading with "switching to windows phone." How many dollars do you think Microsoft is going to throw into that sink hole?
Amateur hour is over.
From The Globe and Mail:As part of a larger reorganization of the company, BlackBerry said on Friday that it would layoff 40 percent of its staff, ceasing sales of devices to consumers.
I'm thinking BB will put out a few handsets but geared towards professionals and business users (although I expect at least some major carriers will keep offering them to any consumer who wants one) and focus more on their other areas such as QNX development, enterprise systems, and getting more users (across platforms) using BES.
Bought for patents?
It's crazy - before the iPhone, I had owned a handful of Blackberries. I remember how cool it felt to own one and ask for someone's BBM PIN.
I have a 9930 for work and it blows. Touch screen is barely responsive, battery life sucks, navigating is a chore. My backup 3GS is nearly two years older than this thing and I would rather use that.
There is fairly little risk in that. The company has $2.6 billion in cash and no debt. The services that you require are extremely profitable and unrelated to the handset division. Also there are far more blackberries out there in use than there are Windows phones. To the extent there is a business to be had supporting them, there will be a company that does that.
But I should have stopped reading with "switching to windows phone." How many dollars do you think Microsoft is going to throw into that sink hole?
Hold on a second, your company is switching from Blackberry to another platform (windows phone) with possibly even fewer apps and developers? Windows phone offers no real advantages for business users over iPhone. Are you aware that iOS devices can be managed and wiped through Exchange management tools and that Apple licensed the Active sync protocol from Microsoft?For large corporates Blackberry is rapidly becoming a business risk. I work at a consulting company with 2000 employees and we are now switching to windows phone. The advantages of BES etc. do not compensate the increased risk that at some point BB might not be able to keep its service reliable.
This is a strategy that is sure to kill the company, IMO. There are no separate "professional" or "business user" markets anymore.
BlackBerry stubbornly ignored all of their opportunities to stay relevant; I'm not sure there's any hope for them anymore.
... layoff 40 percent of its staff, ceasing sales of devices to consumers ... iOS version of BlackBerry Messenger on indefinite hold...
That's what happens and will eventually happen to every company on Earth. Nothing lives forever, nothing.although I've never owned a Blackberry, it's sad to see a company that was well done and put out a great product go down. They just joined the party too late.
Amateur hour is over.