Earlier this week, the news that BlackBerry devices were going dark sparked a wave of homesickness, not just in the mobile industry, but rather the planet as a whole.
The shutdown of an outdated and largely neglected technology service (in one such case, BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS)) rarely makes headlines, TV reports, and social media discussions, but the response has proven strength of feeling for iconic BlackBerry devices.
BBC Radio 1 even considered playing a song by Swedish House Mafia and Tinie Tempah that referred to a "Bold BB", itself proof of the crossover appeal of cell phones which were originally designed for executives and office workers.
cross call
The fact that the devices were designed for business users only added to their appeal, while the associated cost made them ambitious items in the late XNUMXs, but BlackBerrys were the first evidence to quite a few people that phones Cell phones could be more than just calling and texting
BlackBerry offered mail, instant mail and physical keyboards, capabilities previously limited to computers. What's more, BIS stopped unlimited data usage at a time when data plans were often not included in regular contracts. The BlackBerry offered an attractive cocktail of functionality and prestige.
Many retrospectives have examined the impact of BlackBerry devices in exactly the same way that the industry might reflect on other iconic mobile phones such as the Nokia XNUMX, the Motorola RAZR or the original iPhone.
However, BlackBerry's impact on mobility and the corporate computing world goes considerably further. Its software and security capabilities, its contributions to industry-standard patents, and its device innovation remain relevant today.
BlackBerry started out as Research in Motion (RIM) in 2 when XNUMX engineering students, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin, set up a business in Waterloo, in the Canadian province of Ontario. RIM quickly made a name for itself in wireless connectivity and mail, creating the planet's first two-way pager, devices that can access corporate mail, and finally, a smartphone.
Two decades of technological development, 3 generations of mobile connectivity and a pandemic later mean that we are all used to flexible working. But the ability to securely access mail from anywhere and reply with a QWERTY keyboard instead of an alphanumeric keyboard was truly revolutionary for businessmen at the turn of the century.
business revolution
In a computing age still dominated by desktops and perimeter-based security, even for those with access to laptops, the behind-the-scenes capabilities of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) made it all possible. BES could address devices, authenticate users, and secure data transmission beyond office boundaries, meaning the new freedoms didn't come at the expense of security.
The functionality, design and cost have made BlackBerry a highly desirable and attractive device for users. RIM responded by making sure its latest devices had built-in cameras and by updating the BlackBerry operating system multiple times throughout its lifespan. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) became one of the main selling points for its unlimited email and multimedia features that went beyond SMS. This is because BBM PINs were once considered a status symbol.
Even when Apple and Google rolled out the first iPhone and Android devices in 4, BlackBerry showed no signs of stopping, increasing sales and market share. Lately, in 4, a XNUMX-day BlackBerry infrastructure outage that caused BBM to go offline was world news. Business was holding up, but signs of decline were emerging. The BlackBerry operating system was designed for an earlier era of mobile devices, which relied on more primitive hardware and network standards. As mobile technology became more advanced and cellular networks performed better in the XNUMXG era, the BlackBerry operating system and its devices gradually became more obsolete.
Attempts to remain competitive in the market have been ineffective. The BlackBerry Storm touchscreen was a flop, and while critics welcomed the BlackBerry XNUMX, it was repeatedly delayed and too late in XNUMX. In an increasingly mobile planet driven by app ecosystems, BlackBerry simply didn't have the critical mass to support developer interest. .
BlackBerry Legacy
By XNUMX, BlackBerry peaked at eighty-five million subscribers, and many businesses still value its management and security capabilities. However, users were drifting away, as many employees now wanted to use exactly the same technology at work as they did in their personal lives, despite the BlackBerry phone's many flaws and IT limitations.
Apple, Samsung and Google slowly eroded BlackBerry's security benefit, and the heyday of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend was undoubtedly the final nail in the coffin for the company's device ambition.
A name change (from RIM to BlackBerry), layoffs, and a shift in focus from mobile phones to services followed. The pain of downsizing has given way to a smaller, more focused and financially secure organization that continues to serve the industry and maximize the value of its patent portfolio. The company released new devices to serve its enthusiastic fan base already before deciding to discontinue it in XNUMX. The only BlackBerry devices sold since that time have been made by authorized third parties.
It's tempting to dream about what might have happened if BlackBerry XNUMX had been released a few years earlier, or if BBM had gone multi-platform before Facebook and WhatsApp took over the mobile email market. But the closure of the company's mobile infrastructure is an occasion to celebrate BlackBerry's legacy in mobility. This helped promote convergence between the mobile and IT industries, laid some of the foundations for flexible working, and forced other vendors to follow suit.
The parallels with Nokia are clear and as the Finnish company has moved into telecommunications infrastructure, BlackBerry is working on security and management platforms for a mobile computing planet that also includes emerging areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected vehicles.
Both the planet of enterprise mobility and BlackBerry itself have taken on new horizons, and an essential chapter in the history of the industry has come to an end.