BlackBerry Announces Upgrade to Mobile-Security Software
09 December 2016 - 8:50AM
Dow Jones News
TORONTO—BlackBerry Ltd. announced Thursday an upgrade of its
mobile-security software in its latest move to win more business
from its traditional government and business customer base.
Chief Executive John Chen said the new release, available
Thursday, will consolidate BlackBerry mobile security software in
one product, a shift from selling a lineup of individual
products.
Mr. Chen said the new platform will simplify BlackBerry's
offering for customers by integrating BES12, the company's device
management tool, with products from the five niche software
companies BlackBerry acquired throughout the past two years,
including Good Technology, AtHoc, and WatchDox into one
package.
Under Mr. Chen, BlackBerry has put increasing emphasis on its
software business, as its once-dominant share of the smartphone
market dwindled to less than 1%. In September, the company said it
would outsource the making of its iconic handsets.
BlackBerry's mobile-security software business is built on the
strength of its data encryption, which makes it harder to hackers
to breach. The company has previously struck partnerships with
companies ranging from Microsoft Corp., Salesforce.com Inc. and
Samsung Electronics Co. to boost the security of their cloud-based
platforms.
BlackBerry generated $494 million in software and services
revenue in its last fiscal year, nearly double what it made in its
fiscal 2015 year. The company continues to lose money, posting a
net loss of $208 million in its most recent fiscal year due to
steep restructuring costs and declining handset sales.
The company remains on track to grow its software business by
30% this year, Mr. Chen said.
Mr. Chen also said that BlackBerry plans to release one more
keyboard-equipped smartphone before fully ceding handset
development to third-party manufacturers. Images of the
device—code-named "Mercury"—were leaked online in recent days.
Mr. Chen said the device is going through internal checks ahead
of its anticipated release in the next few months.
The company is close to announcing new partners for those types
of handsets from manufacturers based in China and India, Mr. Chen
added.
Write to David George-Cosh at david.george-cosh@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 08, 2016 16:35 ET (21:35 GMT)
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