BlackBerry is gearing up to tap into the growing trend towards the 'Internet of things', as it continues its turnaround strategy.
The embattled handset maker has been diversifying its portfolio, as it slips in the popularity rankings, and is targeting a return to profitability in the year to February 2015. In the fourth quarter of its last financial year, it reported revenue 64% lower and a $423 million loss. It sold around 1.3 million units, compared to 1.9 million in the third quarter.
Despite its dwindling income, CEO John Chen believes its role in "the new era of computing" is "more necessary than ever", because of some of its core strengths around security. He points out the Canadian company already powers many embedded systems with its QNX operating system.
Chen notes BlackBerry will cater more to enterprises; regulated industries such as finance, law enforcement, government and healthcare; and is not dropping devices, but will add other income from enterprise segments. It is also investing in emerging solutions such as machine-to-machine technologies that "will help to power the backbone of the Internet of things".
"Although not widely known, QNX is at the ultra-secure core of our smartphones, but it also powers a range of essential industrial, automotive, military and medical systems for which security and reliability are absolutely essential," says Chen.
Vital play?
Applications designed around QNX include wearable GPS and communication systems for ground troops, unmanned aircraft control systems, steam turbine controls, nuclear power monitoring, advanced driver assistance in cars, and a range of medical diagnostic and monitoring equipment, says Chen.
"So when BlackBerry talks about focusing on the emerging needs of the enterprise, this is what we're talking about. Those needs are changing, just as they did in previous eras of technological change - such as the advent of desktop computing and the rise of mobile."
Chen says the company's offerings will be essential to the next era of computing: "An era in which mobility is fully integrated with the underlying systems that keep the modern world operating."
As part of this process, BlackBerry recently invested in NantHealth, which has developed a cloud-based clinical operating system that is agnostic to any device or electronic health record. "This is the future of healthcare, a field where the ability to share reliable information and make sense of conflicting signals can mean the difference between life and death."
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