BlackBerry (
TSX: BB,
Forum) made another solid move toward a world of software and services when the Waterloo, Ontario-based company announced today that it had launched its new Professional Cybersecurity Services segment.
According to the
news release, this new practice is intended to further expand the company’s security portfolio through the provision of new consulting services, tools and best practices to assist organizations wishing to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to defense against an ever-evolving world of cybersecurity risks.
In a recent Ponemon Institute study, data breaches cost the global economy more than $400.0 billion in 2015, noting this, BlackBerry feels there is a tremendous opportunity for growth within this space as it already manages hundreds of millions of mobile endpoints and provides critical systems software for more than 60 million connected cars.
The new consulting unit will focus on strategic security involving best practices in IT operation from enterprise mobility to cloud services, technical security involving technical assistance for infrastructure and product development lifecycle, automotive/IoT security, and threat detection, mitigation penetration testing and vulnerability assessment and incident response analysis.
Company Executive Chairman and CEO, John Chen, commented, “BlackBerry is the gold standard when it comes to security and we're always evolving to maintain this high standard as the complexity of enterprise mobility and security increases. We recognize that security vulnerabilities are a top risk concern for public and private sector organizations alike.”
Then he concluded, “The creation of our Professional Cybersecurity Services practice and acquisition of Encription reinforces our commitment to providing customers the industry's most secure mobility solutions and helping them to assess and mitigate risks.”
In
other news announced today, the company also announced that it had launched a new BBM channel with Sharecare, a digital health and wellness engagement platform, giving users of the channel a protected forum to access information from experts ranging from the American Cancer Society to licensed physicians and nurses, and personalities such as Deepak Chopra and Dr. Oz.
BlackBerry also announced later this morning that customers would be able to access its secure enterprise mobility solutions in the open, flexible, enterprise-grade cloud platform Microsoft Azure. The company also intends to add the network crisis communication solution from AtHoc into the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
MARKET REACTION:
Shares edged down 0.30% on minimal trading to $9.97 per share.
OUR TAKE:
BlackBerry has been striving to regain its relevance under the guidance of corporate ‘fixer’ John Chen since he came on as interim CEO back in November 2013, but is it possible for the company to return to its once lofty position as a smartphone super power?
The smartphone market is mature and saturated, with Apple and Samsung becoming carbon copies of each other in a sector long past disruptive innovation. Then you have the growing power of Chinese manufacturers like Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi beating down the market door and pointing to a future of razor-thin margins. Only the giants will survive this hardware war. BlackBerry doesn’t have a valid re-entry point and John Chen, to his credit, has sensed this.
Yes, the Priv is still new to the market, but a good indicator of significant market penetration is if you see handsets in use around you. I have yet to see someone using a Priv since its launch in November. This doesn’t mean to say that the hardware of the Priv is inferior, it’s just too late to the game to gain any significant market traction and BlackBerry doesn’t have the resources to overcome that challenge.
To add insult to injury, Samsung is taking a hard swing at BlackBerry’s Priv with its Knox platform. Admittedly, the maiden version of the company’s foray into a secure platform was found lacking, but since then, Samsung has built on that experience and is developing a high-grade vertically integrated security solution that rivals Apple’s iOS platform and tops it with its ability for stack customization.
So Chen, true to his nature, has been quietly positioning the company to capitalize on its established strengths of software and services. Security was what made BlackBerry great so it’s a no-brainer that Chen has facilitated this focus. Today’s announcement regarding the launch of BlackBerry’s security consulting arm is good news and shows real progress toward this new goal. I see good probability for success in this endeavour as BlackBerry’s enterprise relationships run deep with approximately 70 government certifications and approvals, more than any other vendor in the space. It also has contracts with every one of the G7 governments as well as 16 of the 20 G20 governments, all 10 of the 10 largest world banks and law firms, and the top five biggest healthcare, investment, and oil & gas companies.
It can build on this to establish an iconic role in global enterprise management and security services. The journey is does have some hurdles however. Making this move will place BlackBerry directly in the sights of current powerhouses like Accenture. This means that BlackBerry will have to move quickly and decisively in the next 12 months. I was a fan of BlackBerry hardware in the past as were many of my friends, but I think it’s the end of an era and the company should walk away from its hardware commitments so it can progress into a new brighter future unfettered.
I have no interest in BlackBerry or any companies mentioned in this article, long or short.
--Gaalen Engen
https://twitter.com/gaalenengen