BlackBerry: The Leaders Must Now Learn To Chase

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A decade ago, a BlackBerry phone was a remarkable possession. This sleek device offered features the likes of which no other mobile device at the time could claim. Chief among them was the facility to send and receive emails on the go right from the mobile device, without needing to connect with the mail server through a PC. And unlike PDAs, which did provide email exchange over phone lines, one didn’t need to synchronise and “request” the server for new mails. The transformation was  from pull to push; instead of a user having to pull his emails or other information (for instance, calendar updates) from his mail server, there now existed an interface, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which made sure that every new mail and update was instantaneously pushed to the user’s BlackBerry device. This capability alone propelled Research in Motion, or RIM, BlackBerry’s maker, to the top of the enterprise phone market.

A decade down the line, things are no longer as rosy. In fact, they are so far removed from rosy that BlackBerry, and RIM, are left floundering for ways to remain relevant. What has changed? How could the principal phone provider for companies the world over suddenly be facing an existential question-mark?

The changes, or lack thereof, that sparked the current crisis:

The financial clout and the sheer presence that BlackBerry once commanded in the global phone
market have now disappeared. This change has been the consequence of a combination of alterations in the company’s attitude and emphasis, and quite oppositely, its inability to alter its ways in response to the fast-moving phone market. Here are the major milestones:

Entering the consumer segment: With the enterprise market already in its grasp, BlackBerry launched an inevitable incursion into the consumer market. The BlackBerry Internet Service, or BIS, replaced the BES for personal users of BlackBerry phones. People began to buy these “smartphones” in a worldwide rush, convinced that these were the most advanced mobile devices in the market. And for a time, they were right, principally because no other devices had yet come up with as smooth an email and Internet integration as BlackBerry’s.

Misconstruing the consumer market: In response to the overwhelming consumer demand RIM released a host of BlackBerry models, ranging from Curve at the lower end to Bold at the higher end of the price range. None of these devices offered significant disparities either in terms of hardware or software. For instance, Bold had a better camera than Curve, and its OS was heavier with features as well. But the phones’ general appearance and their usage for simple mailing, browsing, or calling/messaging purposes, were quite similar. RIM was relying on BlackBerry as a whole being a brand far ahead of its competitors. Resultantly, innovation slackened and disaster struck, as the iPhone and several Android phones entered the market and revolutionized it in a matter of months.

Attempting to change, but too little too late: With BlackBerry Torch, RIM offered its first touch interface. It was meant to compete with the iPhone and the glut of Samsung devices that had adopted advanced capacitive touch technologies for superior user experience. Torch was a refreshingly attractive deviation from the other models, but the touch feature was nowhere as responsive as, say, on an iPhone, and the GUI was still standard BlackBerry. It flopped, and gloom descended over the Waterloo-based manufacturers, the erstwhile kings of the smartphone realm.

What does the future hold?

What the future holds for RIM and BlackBerry is entirely in their own hands. In order to re-establish its dominance, or at the very least, a leading presence in the market, RIM needs to analyse the causes for its decline and enforce immediate rectification measures. These may include:

• Redefining the X-factor: Every major product in today’s market advertises itself with a differentiating factor, often termed the X-factor, that makes it special, and automatic email integration used to be BlackBerry’s. Sadly, that no longer is a feature that sets BlackBerry phones apart. In fact, such features are the most basic requirements of modern smartphones. BlackBerry must find a new niche to carve, something on the lines of iPhone’s Siri, for example. 
• Re-designing GUI: iPhones, Android devices and even Windows phones have completely redefined the way the contents of a smartphone are presented. BlackBerry must go the same way, however much it must hate to forgo its trademark interface. Reportedly, images of BlackBerry 10, the upcoming OS from RIM, portray significant changes in the right direction. 
• Re-aligning prices: As any ailing company must, RIM has to look at pricing its products lower than similar phones from other brands. Such trends are visible as well. A look at Blackberry mobiles price list on MySmartPrice show Curve prices in India have fallen below INR 10,000. Affordability is a key issue in the consumer market, and lower per-unit profits but higher volumes of sales are the recommended approach, which RIM appears to have finally realised. 
• Retaining enterprise customers: Consumer-centred developments notwithstanding, RIM’s primary user base must remain enterprise-oriented. The US government recently declared that it would not be relinquishing BlackBerry smartphones for official use anytime in the near future. This is because BlackBerry phones have an on-device encryption mechanism, by virtue of which email communications become highly secure, thus making them highly suitable for organisational use. Unlike personal consumers who focus on the user interface and other alluring aspects of a phone, what an organization needs is security. BlackBerry must continue to get better, and be the world leader in this field. 

Under Thorsten Heins’ new regime as CEO, efforts have definitely been made to bring BlackBerry back into reckoning. These efforts need to gather greater momentum, particularly in the face of the ultra-rapid advancements in the global smartphone market. RIM has sufficient expertise in both hardware and software design and concentrating on the above-mentioned 4 Rs can prove to be just the remedy that the company needs. To sum it up, RIM and BlackBerry’s present is unquestionably sombre, but a happier future waits if the right steps are taken with urgency and intensity. For Blackberry fans, the future seems heavily dependent on the Blackberry 10 OS. We may still have to wait to see just how promising times are for Blackberry, RIM and Thorsten Heins.