BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) may be having trouble in most parts of its business, but it seems the company will always have the loyalty of Canadians to fall back on. In a release earlier today the company announced a partnership with several Canadian organizations. The firms are using the new Blackberry all-in-one enterprise solution BES, and the firm is trying to spread the word.
According to this morning’s press release Blackberry Enterprise Mobility solutions is being used by Volker Stevin, City of Waterloo and Samuel, Son & Co., Limited. All three appear to be staunch supporters of the company, and there’s little wonder. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is based in the City of Waterloo and employs a large amount of people there. Blackberry is looking for a break, and BES might form part of its redemption. Today’s release offers little hope of that, however.
Blackberry BES begins takeoff
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is trying to turn itself into a services company. The firm has decided that its hardware business is not likely to thrive, and its software business offers its only real hope to grow in the next decade. Blackberry Enterprise Services forms the center of the company’s strategy, and it will need wide adoption if it wants to retain the confidence of its investors.
Mike Philip, Wireless Program Manager, Volker Stevin said, “We evaluated other MDM solutions like MobileIron and AirWatch, but BES10 was a clear winner in terms of being more user-friendly and cost-effective. BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BES10 allow us to improve operational efficiency with security capabilities that are second to none.”
Today’s release showed off some of the positive attributes of BES, but it will need to do more than sell the system in Canada if it wants to earn enough service revenue to dampen the worries of shareholders. The system’s most important attribute, its ability to work with iOS and Android devices, was underplayed in the press release, however, and that demonstrates one of the biggest problems at BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB).
Blackberry continues to struggle with hardware
One of the clear problems at BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is the company’s perceived inability to decide the future of its hardware division. Despite BES being the ostensible focus of this morning’s press release, not one of the three organizations mentioned their use of Android and iOS phones on Blackberry software.
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) needs to decide whether or not it wants to sell smart phones. A spokesperson from the City of Waterloo quoted in this morning’s press release said “BlackBerry 10 devices are by far some of the best business smartphones available.” Blackberry is still trying to sell its hardware, the software takes a backseat even in a press release supposed to be centered on BES.
Shares in BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) have lost almost half of their value in the last twelve months and it’s easy to see why. The Canadian firm needs to pick a direction in which to move, and its unwillingness to do so is pulling value out of the company.
