The story
Founded by Mike Lazaridis on Mar 7, 1984, in Waterloo.1
1984–2001: early years and growth
Research In Motion Limited was founded in 1984. In 1988, RIM became the first wireless data technology developer in North America and the first company outside the Nordic countries to develop connectivity products for Mobitex wireless packet-switched data communications networks. Mobitex's wireless data transport also became RIM's first wireless data service that powered the Blackberry and Palm devices until it was phased out. In 1990, RIM introduced the DigiSync Film KeyKode Reader. In 1991, it introduced the first Mobitex protocol converter. In 1992, it introduced the first Mobitex point-of-sale solution, a protocol converter box that interfaced with existing point-of-sale terminal equipment to enable wireless communication. In 1993, it introduced the RIMGate, the first general-purpose Mobitex X.25 gateway. In the same year, it launched Ericsson Mobidem AT and Intel wireless modems containing RIM modem firmware. In 1994, it introduced the first Mobitex mobile point-of-sale terminal. In the same year, it received the Emmy Award for Technical Innovation and the KPMG High Technology Award. In 1995, it introduced Freedom, the first Type II PCMCIA radio modem for Mobitex.
In 1995, RIM was financed by Canadian institutional and venture capital investors through a private placement in the privately held company. Working Ventures Canadian Fund Inc. led the first venture round with a C$5,000,000 investment with the proceeds being used to complete the development of RIM's two-way paging system hardware and software. A total of C$30,000,000 in pre-IPO financing was raised by the company prior to its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in January 1998 under the symbol RIM.
In 1996, RIM introduced the Interactive Pager, the first two-way messaging pager, and the RIM 900 OEM radio modem. The company developed the pager prototype with the support of Intel Corporation. The company worked with RAM Mobile Data and Ericsson to turn the Ericsson-developed Mobitex wireless data network into a two-way paging and Wireless e-mail network. Pivotal in this development was the release of the Inter@ctive Pager 950. In August 1997, a prototype was presented to BellSouth executives, who were impressed with the device and agreed to a $70-million deal that involved the supply of 100,000 devices. The pager started shipping in August 1998. About the size of a bar of soap, this device competed against the Skytel two-way paging network developed by Motorola.
In 1999, RIM introduced the BlackBerry 850 pager. This was also the first device to use the Blackberry OS. Named after its keyboard's similarity to the druplets of the blackberry fruit, the device could receive push email from a Microsoft Exchange Server using its complementary server software, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). Its introduction set the stage for the company's future enterprise-oriented products, such as the BlackBerry 957 in April 2000, the first BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry OS platform and BES continued to increase in functionality, while the incorporation of encryption and S/MIME support helped BlackBerry devices gain increased usage by governments and businesses. During fiscal 1999-2001, RIM's assets grew eight-fold due to massive capacity expansion.
2001–2011: global expansion and competition
RIM soon began to introduce BlackBerry devices for the consumer market as well, beginning with the BlackBerry Pearl 8100—the first BlackBerry phone to include multimedia features such as a camera. The Pearl series was highly successful, as was the subsequent Curve 8300 and Bold 9000 series. Extensive carrier partnerships fueled the rapid expansion of BlackBerry users globally in both enterprise and consumer markets.
Despite the arrival of the first Apple iPhone in 2007, BlackBerry sustained market share growth well into 2011. The introduction of Apple's iPhone on the AT&T network in the fall of 2007 in the United States prompted RIM to produce its first touchscreen smartphone for the competing network in 2008—the BlackBerry Storm. It sold well but suffered from mixed to poor reviews and poor customer satisfaction. The iPhone initially lagged behind BlackBerry in both shipments and active users, due to RIM's head start and larger carrier distribution network. In the United States, the BlackBerry user base peaked at approximately 21 million users in the fall of 2010. That quarter, the company's global subscriber base stood at 36 million users. As the iPhone and Google Android accelerated growth in the United States, the BlackBerry began to turn to other smartphone platforms. Nonetheless, the BlackBerry line as a whole continued to enjoy success, spurred on by strong international growth. As of December 1, 2012, the company had 79 million BlackBerry users globally with only 9 million remaining in the United States.
Even as the company continued to grow worldwide, investors and media became increasingly alarmed about the company's ability to compete with devices from rival mobile operating systems iOS and Android. CNN cited BlackBerry as one of six endangered US-Canadian brands. Analysts were also worried about the company's management structure.
Following numerous attempts to upgrade its existing Java platform, the company acquired QNX Software Systems to upgrade the BlackBerry platform, centered around its recently acquired real-time operating system QNX. In March 2011, then-co-CEO Jim Balsillie suggested during a conference call that the "launch of some powerful new BlackBerrys" (eventually released as BlackBerry 10) would be in early 2012. However, analysts were "worried that promoting the mysterious, supposedly game-changing devices too early might hurt sales of existing BlackBerrys" (similar to the Osborne effect). The initial launch date was seen in retrospect as too ambitious and hurt the company's credibility at a time when its existing aging products steadily lost market share.
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On September 27, 2010, RIM announced the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the first product running on the new QNX platform known as BlackBerry Tablet OS. The BlackBerry PlayBook was officially released to U.S. and Canadian consumers on April 19, 2011. It was criticized for being rushed to market in an incomplete state, and sold poorly. Following the shipments of 900,000 tablets during its first three quarters on market, slow sales and inventory pileups prompted the company to reduce prices and write down the inventory value by $485 million.
Primary competition
BlackBerry's primary competitors were smartphones running Android OS, and the Apple iPhone. For a number of years, the BlackBerry was the leading smartphone in many markets, particularly the United States. The arrival of the iPhone and later Google's Android platform caused a slowdown in BlackBerry growth and a decline in sales in some markets, most notably the United States, leading to negative media and analyst sentiment over the company's ability to continue independently.
When Apple's iPhone was introduced in 2007, it generated substantial media attention, with numerous media outlets calling it a "BlackBerry killer". While BlackBerry sales continued to grow, the newer iPhone grew at a faster rate. The 87% drop in BlackBerry's stock price between 2010 and 2013 was primarily attributed to the performance of the iPhone handset.
The first three iPhone models generally lagged behind the BlackBerry in sales, as RIM had major advantages in carrier and enterprise support; however, Apple continued gaining market share. In October 2008, Apple briefly passed RIM in quarterly sales when they announced they had sold 6.9 million iPhones to the 6.1 million sold by RIM, comparing partially overlapping quarters between the companies. Though Apple's iPhone sales declined to 4.3 million in the subsequent quarter and RIM's increased to 7.8 million, for some investors this was a sign of weakness. The iPhone began to sell more phones quarterly than the BlackBerry in 2010, brought on by the release of the iPhone 4.
In the United States, the BlackBerry hit its peak in September 2010, with almost 22 million users, or 37% of the 58.7 million American smartphones. BlackBerry then began to decline in use in the United States, with Apple's installed base in the United States finally passing it in April 2011. Sales of the iPhone continued to accelerate, as did the smartphone market, while the BlackBerry began to lose users continuously in the United States. By February 2016, only 1.59 million (0.8%) of the 198.9 million smartphone users in the United States were running BlackBerry compared to 87.32 million (43.9%) on an iPhone.
Google's Android mobile operating system, running on hardware by a range of manufacturers including Sony, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, LG and many others ramped up the competition for BlackBerry. In January 2010, barely 3 million (7.1%) of the 42.7 million Smartphones in use at the time in the United States were running Android, compared to 18 million BlackBerry devices (43%). Within a single year Android had passed the installed base of the BlackBerry in the United States. By February 2016, only 1.59 million (0.8%) of the 198.9 million smartphone users in the United States were running BlackBerry compared to 104.82 million (52.7%) running Android.
While RIM's secure encrypted network was attractive to corporate customers, their handsets were sometimes considered less attractive to consumers than iPhone and Android smartphones. Developers often developed consumer applications for those platforms and not the BlackBerry. During 2010s, even enterprise customers had begun to adopt BYOD policies due to employee feedback. The company also faced criticism that its hardware and operating system were outdated and unappealing compared to the competition, as well as that the browsing capabilities were poorer.
2011–2015: layoffs and strategic changes
Slowing growth prompted the company to undertake a lay-off of 2,000 employees in the summer of 2011. In September 2011, the company's BlackBerry Internet Service suffered a massive outage, impacting millions of customers for several days. The outage embarrassingly occurred as Apple prepared to launch the iPhone 4S, causing fears of mass defections from the platform.
Shortly afterwards, in October 2011, RIM unveiled BBX, a new platform for future BlackBerry smartphones that would be based on the same QNX-based platform as the PlayBook. However, due to an accusation of trademark infringement regarding the name BBX, the platform was renamed BlackBerry 10. The task proved daunting, with the company delaying the launch in December 2011 to some time in 2012. On January 22, 2012, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie resigned as the CEOs of the company, handing the reins over to executive Thorsten Heins. On March 29, 2012, the company reported its first net loss in years. Heins set about the task of restructuring the company, including announcing plans to lay off 5,000 employees, replacing numerous executives, and delaying BlackBerry 10 a second time into January 2013.
BlackBerry 10
After much criticism and numerous delays, RIM officially launched BlackBerry 10 and two new smartphones based on the platform, the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10, on January 30, 2013. The BlackBerry Z10, the first BlackBerry smartphone running BlackBerry 10, debuted worldwide in January 2013, going on sale immediately in the U.K. with other countries following. A marked departure from previous BlackBerry phones, the Z10 featured a fully touch-based design, a dual-core processor, and a high-definition display. BlackBerry 10 had 70,000 applications available at launch, which the company expected would rise to 100,000 by the time the device made its debut in the United States. In support of the launch, the company aired its first Super Bowl television advertisement in the U.S. and Canada during Super Bowl XLVII. In discussing the decision to create a proprietary operating system instead of adopting an off-the-shelf platform such as Android, Heins noted, "If you look at other suppliers' ability to differentiate, there's very little wiggle room. We looked at it seriously—but if you understand what the promise of BlackBerry is to its user base it's all about getting stuff done. Games, media, we have to be good at it but we have to support those guys who are ahead of the game. Very little time to consume and enjoy content—if you stay true to that purpose you have to build on that basis. And if we want to serve that segment we can't do it on a me-too approach." Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear remarked "We want to regain our position as the number one in the world", while Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben proclaimed "It could be the greatest comeback in tech history. The carriers are behind us. They don't want a duopoly" (referring to Apple and Samsung).
During the BlackBerry 10 launch event, the company also announced that it would change its public brand from Research In Motion to BlackBerry. The name change was made to "put the BlackBerry brand at the centre" of the company's diverse brands, and because customers in some markets "already know the company as BlackBerry". A shareholder vote on an official name change to BlackBerry Limited was held at its next annual general meeting, after its ticker symbols on the TSX and NASDAQ already were changed to BB and BBRY respectively on February 4, 2013.
On August 12, 2013, the company announced that it was open to being purchased.
Prem Watsa/Fairfax Deal
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's CEO Mark Wiseman stated that he would consider investing in BlackBerry if the company became private. Also on August 12, 2013, foremost shareholder Prem Watsa resigned from BlackBerry's board.
On September 20, 2013, the company announced it would lay off 4,500 staff and take a CAD$1 billion operating loss. Three days later, the company announced that it had signed a letter of intent to be acquired by a consortium led by Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax Financial Holdings for a $9 per share deal. This deal was also confirmed by Watsa.
On September 29, 2013, the company began operating a direct sales model for customers in the United States, where unlocked Q10 and Z10 smartphones were sold directly from the BlackBerry website. On October 15, 2013, the company published an open letter in 30 publications in nine countries to reassure customers that BlackBerry would continue to operate. Anthony Michael Sabino, St. John's University business professor, stated in the Washington Post: "This is BlackBerry's last-ditch attempt to simply survive in the face of crushing competition in a market it essentially invented."
John Chen joins BlackBerry
On November 4, 2013, the Fairfax Prem Watsa deal was scrapped in favor of a US$1 billion cash injection which, according to one analyst, represented the level of confidence BlackBerry's largest shareholder had in the company. At the same time, BlackBerry installed John Chen as CEO to replace the laid-off Heins. According to the Globe and Mail, BlackBerry's hope was that Chen, with his reputation as a turnaround artist, could save the company.
"We have begun moving the company to embrace a multi-platform, BYOD world by adopting a new mobility management platform and a new device strategy," Chen explained in an open letter published shortly after his appointment. "I believe in the value of this brand. With the right team and the right strategy in place, I am confident that we will rebuild BlackBerry for the benefit of all our constituencies."
In April 2014, Chen spoke of his turnaround strategy in an interview with Reuters, explaining that he intended to invest in or partner with other companies in regulated industries such as healthcare, financial, and legal services. He later clarified that BlackBerry's device division remained part of his strategy and that his company was also looking to invest in "emerging solutions such as machine to machine technologies that will help power the backbone of the Internet of Things." He would later expand on this idea at a BlackBerry Security Summit in July 2014.
In May 2014, the low-cost BlackBerry Z3 was introduced in the Indonesian market, where the brand had been particularly popular. The budget handset was produced in partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, which handled the design and distribution of the product. A New York Times analysis stated that the model was an attempt by Chen to generate revenue while he tried "to shift the organization's focus to services and software." As part of the localization effort for the promotion of the Z3, the handset's back panel was engraved with the word "Jakarta", but skepticism still emerged, as the handset was still more than twice as expensive as Android models in Indonesia at the time of release.
2015–present: software transition
In the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year, Chen stated: "This is, of course, the very beginning of our task and we hope that we will be able to report better results going forward… We feel pretty good about where we are." Quartz reported that stock was up by 30 percent, compared to the same period in the previous year.
In September 2015, Chen unveiled the BlackBerry Priv, a keyboard-slider smartphone utilizing the Android operating system with BlackBerry-developed software enhancements, including a secure bootloader, full-disk encryption, integrity protection, and the BlackBerry HUB.
In 2020, BlackBerry signed a new licensing agreement for smartphones with the US-based startup company, OnwardMobility. The company never released a device before shutting down in 2022.
As of June 2021, Cybersecurity ($107 million) and IoT ($43 million) revenue accounted for a combined 86% of Q1 2022 earnings ($174 million). Chen reiterated: "Now, we are pivoting the organization more heavily toward the market by creating two business units, Cybersecurity and IoT… we will provide revenue and gross margin by business unit as well as other selected metrics."
On January 4, 2022, BlackBerry decommissioned the infrastructure and operating system used by their non-Android phones.
In October 2023, the company announced that it would spin off its IoT business unit and hold an initial public offering for it in the next year.
Acquisitions
During this time, BlackBerry also expanded its software and services offerings with several acquisitions. These included file security firm WatchDox, crisis communications leader AtHoc, and rival EMM vendor Good Technology. The products offered by these firms were gradually re-branded and integrated into BlackBerry's own portfolio. BlackBerry also announced the release of the Good Secure EMM Suites, consolidating WatchDox and Good Technology's products into several tiered offerings alongside its existing software.
Hardware licensing partnerships
BlackBerry announced the DTeK50, a mid-range Android smartphone, on July 26, 2016. Unlike the Priv, the DTek50 was a re-branded version of an existing smartphone, the Alcatel Idol 4 as manufactured by TCL Corporation, one of the company's hardware partners. It was to be the second-last phone ever developed in-house at BlackBerry, followed by the DTek60 in October 2016 – on September 28, 2016, BlackBerry announced that it would cease in-house hardware development to focus on software, delegating development, design, and manufacturing of its devices to third-party partners.
From Wikipedia’s article on BlackBerry Limited, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7