BlackBerry

How The Business Get Started

The story of RIM's phenomenal growth from a small business founded by two Ontario university students TO an international brand with more than six million subscribers spanning 60 countries with revenues in excess of two billion dollars (CND) per year.

1984 - Lazaridis started RIM in 1984, he did so based on his engineering knowledge as well as early life lessons.

1985 -  Lazaridis dropped out of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and with the help of Douglas Fregin. One of the company's first projects was a $600,000 contract with General Motors factories to develop a wireless, networked video display system that displayed information on the assembly line machines.

1988 -  Lazaridis and Fregin launched the early BlackBerry  with a loan from the Government of Ontario New Ventures program and matching funding provided by Lazaridis' parents. At this time, RIM also working on wireless point-of-sale integration with another company's radios. Lazaridis believed RIM could build better radios than the ones they were working with and so the engineers at RIM began working on a device for internal use.

1990 - the Ontario-based company had begun to develop technology that allowed for better wireless-data communication.

1992 - Jim Balsillie joined RIM as co-CEO, investing $125,000 of his own money into the company by remortgaging his home. While RIM was signing contracts with major companies at the time, Lazaridis was still working to make his larger dream come together. . “Back then I would sit there and say, ‘I understand the value of e-mail. I know e-mail is the future because it makes me incredibly productive. When will everyone else understand that?’ ” he recalls.

1994 - the company received a $100,000 contribution from the federal Industrial Research Assistance Program, facilitated by Lazaridis' University of Waterloo connections. The Business Development Bank of Canada and the Innovations Ontario Program lent the company nearly $300,000. Both Lazaridis and Balsillie negotiated private funding from companies - Lazaridis secured a $300,000 investment from Ericsson (a mobile phone company) and Balsillie attracted almost $2 million in financing from COM DEV, a local technology company based in Waterloo.

1996 - RIM went public and raised $36 million in a special warrant - which is similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), but occurs privately - the largest technology special warrant at the time. RIM donated $439,000 to the University of Waterloo for a project that was to "develop the next generation of microchips for wireless communications." That project also received $285,000 from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

1998 - RIM introduced this new gadget. The first Blackberry—a name suggested by a branding strategist—was touted as a wireless handheld computer. To get people to use it, they offered up the device to potential business customers in sectors like Wall Street on a trial basis. 

The company signed wireless provider agreements with BellSouth Wireless, among others, to distribute their product. Ironically, e-mail proper did not start to penetrate corporate America until that same year. Wireless e-mail was still virtually unheard of, but investors could see it was looming on the horizon. As a result, the company was able to raise roughly $250 million to expand Blackberry technology. More details about successful of RIM is on Business Gained  Success entry. 

Products Name Origin

The name was suggested by Lexicon Branding, Inc., a California company that helped the manufacturer come up with a marketing strategy for the product, a busy person’s best friend. Based on the fact that the small keyboard resembled seeds on a berry, Lexicon suggested that the product be named after fruit. “Strawberry” was considered but discarded in favor of “BlackBerry,” which had crisp consonants and vowels and memorable alliteration.

 

Unique Features

BlackBerry Internet Service

With Blackberry Internet Service, you will get the BlackBerry wireless service you already rely on, with the added security of Blackberry Protect. Blackberry Internet Service is the most robust and powerful mobile email solution that provides Blackberry smartphone users with automatic delivery of email messages, mobile access to email message attachments, and deep integration with popular third party email providers by providing real-time push email and automatic synchronization of contacts and calendar.

• Email - Blackberry Internet Service allows you to receive messages from up to 10 business and personal accounts on your Blackberry smartphone. It is compatible with corporate email systems, Internet Service Provider (ISP) email accounts and web mail accounts such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Gmail.
• Internet browsing - Surf the web from just about anywhere, anytime with the Blackberry Browser. View an infinite supply of information, news and entertainment by browsing the full web – when and where you want it – on your Blackberry smartphone.
• Location based services such as GPS and Blackberry Maps - Blackberry Maps lets you view maps and receive directions on your Blackberry smartphone. Whether you need step-by-step directions to your destination, or are looking for businesses, restaurants and addresses nearby.
• Social Networking – Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Linked In and more.
• Instant Messaging service includes Google Talk, MSN Messenger, Blackberry Messenger, Windows Live Messenger - Take your instant messaging with you. Instant messaging (IM) applications on Blackberry smartphones keep you in touch with your IM contacts no matter where you are or what you are doing. Enjoy many of the BBM and IM messenger features you already enjoy on your computer on your BlackBerry smartphone.

BlackBerry Business Cloud Services

For the Blackberry Business Cloud Services, it delivers a simple and affordable way for companies to manage Blackberry smartphones with Microsoft Office 365. Blackberry Business Cloud Services is available at no additional charge to Microsoft Office 365 subscribers. This secure service, hosted by Research In Motion (RIM), directly links Microsoft Exchange Online with Blackberry smartphones to offer reliable, mobile access to synchronized email, calendar, contacts, tasks and memo pads. From almost anywhere, the intuitive, web-based interface provides the tools administrators need to perform common tasks, password reset or find, lock or wipe lost or misplaced devices. An integrated single sign-on between Office 365 and Blackberry Business Cloud Services gives end users online self-service options that help make managing devices more efficient than ever. 

BlackBerry Messanging (BBM)

Every Blackberry is connected to Blackberry's proprietary messaging client called Blackberry Messaging (BBM). BBM allows any user with a network connection to freely communicate with other devices over this network, you only need the other user's Blackberry PIN. Blackberry also features Enterprise software that is specifically designed to integrate a user's phone with their corporate accounts, allowing them to keep up with their work outside of the office.

 

 

 

Business Philosophy and Strategies

The Philosophy
Built from the ground up with a "security first" philosophy, the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution gives your business the tools it needs to secure your data and mobile devices.


The Strategies

RIM has demonstrated that understanding through the design of its smartphones and the ease with which corporate customers have been able to use the company's mobile operating system, not to mention the company’s providing a BlackBerry Enterprise Server product. By looking at RIM's strategy the rest of us can glean what enterprise customers really want. Here’s look at some things that RIM’s success reveals about the enterprise.

1. Stay Focused
2. The iPhone Isn't Everything
3. Microsoft Is Far Behind
4. Blackberry Enterprise Server Is Crucial
5. Appealing to the Enterprise Is Enough
6. The Consumer Space Is Totally Different
7. Productivity Is Key
8. Integration Matters
9. Reputations Plays A Role
10. Google Can Be Put Into Perspective

Key Factors To The Success

BlackBerry is one of the leaders in Smart Phone market for the last few years. At this post-recession phase their business is still going strong. BlackBerry applications, when introduced, have impressed the business men and tech savvy young generation a lot, who love to do a lot of multitasking on a go. It has millions of users all over the world and hence it is a source of business for many developers. The number of users are increasing day by day which indicates a very bight future. There are many factors that contribute to the success of BlackBerry products in worldwide. As such : 

1. By hiring dedicated & professional team of BlackBerry App Developers who can build the right application to meet users requirement. An ideal programmer that have high knowledge in Java ME and Object Oriented Programming most needed. 
2. Using unique approach in marketing the BlackBerry. Combination of RIM's network operations center and the wireless networks of the Company's carrier partners. 
3. RIM strategically positioned the BlackBerry device as a tool for business. 
4. RIM outlines the major trends it believes are driving demand for wireless handhelds and services. 

Business Gained Success

RIM went public in 1996 and raised $36 million in a special warrant - which is similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), but occurs privately - the largest technology special warrant at the time.

1997 - The company  was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1997 and raised an additional $115 million. The millions of dollars that were raised in the 1997 IPO-offering didn't preclude further government assistance.

1998 - RIM received $5.7 million from Industry Canada's Technology Partnerships Canada. This money was lent to help further the government's agenda to establish Canada as a global technology center, and to assist RIM in developing the next generation of mobile email handhelds. The loan was repayable out of future profits.

1999 - RIM listed on the NASDAQ and brought in $250 million.

RIM's success was further rewarded by the Canadian government with an additional $33.9 million in 2000 from Industry Canada's Technology Partnerships. The Innovation Strategy website announces that RIM has benefited from the Government of Canada's Scientific Research and Experimental Development investment tax credits, which amounted to nearly a $12 million savings in 2002 alone.

The demand for BlackBerry has brought thousands of jobs to the Waterloo area, many for local graduates, and the investment in local universities has undoubtedly improved the facilities and research possibilities.

 

Entrepreneur and Business Challenges

1) The Blackberry Network Down World Wide, October 2011

BlackBerry users have just started to report issues with BlackBerry Messenger and email, which suggest that the network is down. This is not the first time that users complain of BlackBerry outage, but this time seems to be a global issue as been reported from all over the world and BlackBerry owners ourself seem to be affected as well.

BBM, Facebook, MSN Messenger and Twitter are not working, as well as any other applications that require data connection, including AppWorld. In addition, sending or receiving emails, regardless of the account, is impossible at the moment. However, the BlackBerry outage does not affect Internet browsing.

Founder and Co-CEO of RIM Mike Lazaridis specifically apologized for the problems on the BlackBerry service in various countries. Specifically, the RIM recorded his statement in the video that was launched at the company’s YouTube channel and posted on his website http://www.youtube.com/watch v=zQ1esvGae_s&feature=player_embedded.

2) Middle East BlackBerry Security Problem, April 2011

Read more in http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/17348/middle-east-blackberry-security-problems-a-national-security-issue-claims-rims-coceo/

3) Indian Government Threatening BlackBerry Ban, February 2011

India may yet ban BlackBerry services after maker Research In Motion (RIM) said it was technically impossible to give government access to corporate e-mails. The Indian government is concerned that terrorists could use encrypted services to co-ordinate attacks. Read more in http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/15588/indian-government-threatening-blackberry-ban-again/