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BlackBerry begins device offensive

The smartphone maker hires former Sony Ericsson exec Ron Louks to win back companies and consumers lost to larger rivals.

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 07 Jan 2014
With the right team and strategy in place, BlackBerry can be rebuilt, says CEO John Chen.
With the right team and strategy in place, BlackBerry can be rebuilt, says CEO John Chen.

Smartphone maker BlackBerry has hired a former Sony Ericsson executive to head its loss-making devices business - a job requiring a heavy dose of salesmanship - to win back companies and consumers lured away by larger rivals.

Ron Louks has taken the position of president of devices and emerging solutions, BlackBerry said in a statement on Monday.

Louks joins BlackBerry from OpenNMS Group, where he served as CEO. He previously worked as head of strategy for HTC's American unit and as head of technology at Sony Ericsson, a joint venture later bought out by Sony.

BlackBerry CEO John Chen says: "Ron will focus on BlackBerry's long-term product roadmap, including hardware, software and design, as well as the company's joint development efforts."

Chen says "a good deal" of Louks' time will be spent with customers, carriers and partners. "On our path to return BlackBerry to profitability, nothing is more important than remaining deeply connected to our customers, and designing and delivering secure products that exceed their expectations."

Transformation time

The latest appointment goes to show that the Canadian company is not only venturing deeper into its newer forays of social media and its QNX operating system, but will continue to focus and build on its product legacy. This comes as BlackBerry - under the fresh reign of Chen - last year undertook to pull itself back from the ledge as it faces fierce competition from the likes of Samsung and Apple.

A smartphone pioneer, BlackBerry has lost most of the market to Apple's iPhone and devices using Google's Android technology. The company has since shifted its focus from the consumer market to serving businesses, governments and other large organisations.

In mid-November, Chen posted an online message to the "BlackBerry community" assuring businesses and consumers that the company was not about to give up the tussle in the competitive ring of mobile technology - despite what critics and commentators had been saying.

"As you know, this is a time of significant change at BlackBerry, as we accelerate our efforts to transform our business.

"I know there has been a lot said about BlackBerry, but let me remind you that, at BlackBerry, we are not dwelling on the past. We are looking towards the future."

With the right team and strategy in place, said Chen, BlackBerry could be rebuilt "for the benefit of all [its] constituencies".

Local line

Around the same time Chen pledged his passion for turning around what some industry observers have tagged a stray ship, BlackBerry's local operations saw a shake-up at the top, with Yudi Moodley replacing former MD for sub-Saharan Africa, Alexandra Zagury.

As of 12 November, Moodley - previously the company's business management director for the Middle East and Africa - took upon himself the responsibility of overseeing and driving the overall business strategy and growth for BlackBerry across Africa.

In an interview with ITWeb shortly after his appointment, Moodley echoed the CEO's sentiments, saying BlackBerry was merely in transition and still had plenty of tricks left up its sleeve - as well as a robust plan of action for 2014.

He said 2014 was the year BlackBerry's roadmap would be realised and the year the company needed to execute on its plans - largely focused on its popular BlackBerry Messenger platform, but also on the enterprise, its QNX operating system - on which BlackBerry 10 is based - and the launch of new devices.

"We are launching products and developing our services and platforms - companies that are going under don't do that."

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