BARCELONA, SPAIN--(Marketwired - Feb. 25, 2014) - Mobile World Congress 2014 - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today announced the eBBM™ Suite, a new family of products and services that work with BlackBerry® smartphones and the BlackBerry enterprise solution, BES and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, to provide enterprise-class mobile messaging that brings together the core strengths of BBM with features and capabilities aimed at enterprises.
BBM Protected will be the first solution offered in the new eBBM Suite, bringing regulated industries the most secure and reliable real-time mobile messaging in the industry. BBM Protected will provide an unrivalled level of trust in enterprise messaging with end-to-end encryption of messages that uses symmetric encryption keys for BBM messages and best-in-class technology for public-private signing and encryption key pairs.
Employees will be able to use a single well-known, well-loved app to connect with internal colleagues under this regulated level of enhanced security, while remaining free to message BBM contacts outside the organization simply and easily with the privacy, control and security that is already inherent in BBM. For IT administrators and infrastructure managers, BBM Protected will work across BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry® OS smartphones in regulated mode with no OS upgrades required.
BlackBerry's end-to-end security model is built on a foundation of secure hardware interacting with secure software. Security is reinforced at every level of the device from CPU to boot ROM, to OS and file system, and applications. The root of trust that BlackBerry builds for its customers remains unbroken throughout the chain, and is unlike other security models that rely on the interaction of components from multiple vendors.
"BBM has always been an important tool for business users who want real-time messaging that is reliable, trusted and puts control of contacts and personal information in users' hands," said John Sims, President, Global Enterprise Solutions at BlackBerry. "With the introduction of the eBBM Suite and BBM Protected, we will provide regulated industries and security-conscious organizations with a powerful and best in class instant messaging solution."
BlackBerry remains committed to providing end-to-end solutions that are secure, reliable and benefit the productivity and collaboration of enterprise customers. "Regulated industries need an option for mobile messaging that maintains compliance, but still gives employees the freedom to be productive with peers outside of the organization. BBM running on BlackBerry smartphones in a BES environment is unrivalled in meeting this need," said John Sims.
BBM continues to be a top choice for business users who turn to mobile messaging to enhance their productivity and collaboration through BBM Voice calling, one-to-one chats, multi-person chats, or BBM Groups, which offers groups of up to 50 people the ability to chat, share calendars, lists and images. BlackBerry users can use BBM for video calls, to share screens and to create private BBM Channels for one-to-many collaboration and sharing.
Pricing and Availability
BBM Protected as part of the eBBM Suite is expected to launch this summer and will be available to enterprise customers through a monthly per-user fee.
Useful Links
BlackBerry BizBlog
BES Information
Cybernomics 101 - Vulnerabilities and Mobile Computing
BBM Information
About BBM
Introduced in 2005, BBM set the standard for mobile messaging and continues to drive innovation in messaging and private social networking. Today, BBM is one of the largest private social mobile networks, driving real, active conversations. Customers love BBM for its privacy, controls and immediacy with Delivered and Read statuses and message-in-progress notices.
About BlackBerry
A global leader in mobile communications, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.
Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used herein, words such as "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "believe", and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by BlackBerry Limited in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that BlackBerry believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause BlackBerry's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those described in the "Risk Factors" section of BlackBerry's Annual Information Form, which is included in its Annual Report on Form 40-F (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BlackBerry's forward-looking statements. BlackBerry has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of BlackBerry Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.