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BlackBerry goes back to its roots
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BlackBerry’s interim chief executive said on Monday that reports of the death of the company “are greatly exaggerated.”
Former Sybase CEO John Chen said in a letter to customers that BlackBerry is returning to its roots, refocusing on delivering devices and services to business users.
Chen was brought in as the interim chief executive and executive chair after talks to sell the company collapsed last month.
He said in the letter that the company is aware that “BlackBerry is not for everyone.”
BlackBerry quickly lost dominance as the leading smartphone maker after the 2007 launch of Apple’s touchscreen iPhone and the 2008 introduction of Google-powered Android phones.
Chen notes that competitors are circling but that BlackBerry is “very much alive, thank you.”
Chen said BlackBerry has substantial cash and said he’ll refocus the company on four areas, including the handset business. Chen put more emphasis on BlackBerry’s mobile device management business, which allows IT departments to manage different devices connected to their corporate networks. He also emphasized BlackBerry’s popular BlackBerry Messenger application. And he mentioned embedded QNX software systems, which are used in-vehicle infotainment systems and industrial machines.
BGC analyst Colin Gillis said a letter meant to reassure customers is needed. The much-hyped BlackBerry 10 system, its latest phones, flopped. The company disclosed in September that it would book nearly a billion dollars in losses related to unsold phones and the company announced last month it was no longer for sale. “They are being targeted pretty heavily. Their customers are up for grabs,” Gillis said.
Focusing on business users is probably the only move Blackberry has left, Gillis said. “It’s a much smaller business. This is the niche player. You can build phones for those people in that niche. You can have a decent little business.”
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