blackberry A Message from RIM's CEO: 'Don't count BlackBerry out'

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

A Message from RIM's CEO

On Wednesday, July 4th, BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins wrote an op-ed piece exclusively for the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, titled "Don't Count BlackBerry Out."

Don't count BlackBerry out.

In recent weeks, it's become fashionable for pundits and market watchers to alternately eulogize Research In Motion as a fallen pioneer and demonize management for not chopping up the company to sell for parts.

As President and CEO of RIM, I understand the frustration and impatience of RIM's shareholders and their eagerness to see the company start to surface the underlying value we all know exists at RIM. But we do not believe RIM is a company at the end. Nor do RIM's current challenges hint at a larger Canadian problem of not being able to sustain successful technology companies.

Technology, and particularly mobile computing, is a globally dynamic industry where innovation is as likely to occur in Waterloo as it is in Seoul or Palo Alto or Stockholm.

Rather, we believe RIM is a company at the beginning of a transition that we expect will once again change the way people communicate. In technology, it is not if you have to change, but when you have to change, and we are in the earliest days of truly mobile computing ? an era in which people interact with the world around them in ways we could barely imagine just a few years ago. With BlackBerry, RIM created the framework that gave people their first taste of an untethered yet completely connected life.

As we prepare to launch our new mobile platform, BlackBerry 10, in the first quarter of next year, we expect to empower people as never before. BlackBerry 10 will connect users not just to each other, but to the embedded systems that run constantly in the background of everyday life ? from parking meters and car computers to credit card machines and ticket counters.

Those are big promises, I know; and some doubt whether RIM can pull it off. I am the first to admit that RIM has missed on important trends in the smart-phone industry ? especially in the consumer domain, focusing on its core value system for successful products and services. We are working diligently on BlackBerry 10 in order to provide a compelling experience for our loyal enterprise customers and consumers. While we are in a very competitive and constantly changing market, customers benefit from this competition and continued innovation.

As this market grows and includes more people in more countries, there is more room ? a true need, really ? for alternatives. We see this every week with our developer community, who are attending sold-out BlackBerry 10 developer sessions around the world to leverage our platform and ecosystem in order to create and innovate for their communities. That is why RIM has chosen to pursue a strategy that eschews the homogenized sameness of competing ecosystems. To help with that task, we have reshaped the executive team and recruited telecommunications industry veterans with proven track records of success.

Innovation is never easy and rarely understood ? but it is exciting.

To that point, some of what I read and hear is thoughtful and insightful; some, frankly, is just plain wrong. But the facts about RIM's business provide reason to believe that we can succeed, even as we take painful but necessary steps to focus our resources and build a lean, nimble organization focused intently on bringing BlackBerry 10 to market.

As some pundits write RIM's obituary, the company's global subscriber base continues to grow, to more than 78 million people in 175 countries. In many of those countries ? some of the fastest growing markets in the world ? RIM is the top smart-phone; and in some, RIM devices account for the top three spots. We have relationships with 650 carriers around the globe; RIM's reliability and security make it the first choice for countless government agencies and are part of the reason more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies deploy BlackBerry in their enterprises.

RIM has no debt. The company also has more than $2 billion in cash on its balance sheet, and generated $710 million in operating cash flow in its first quarter.

Simultaneously, RIM is undertaking a corporate overhaul that we expect will reduce annual operating expenses by more than $1 billion by the end of our fiscal year. Unfortunately, that requires us to become a much more focused and smaller organization.

These are just the steps we're ready to announce. As has been reported, RIM has hired outside advisers to help me and the other members of the executive team think about the business in new ways and to explore a range of alternatives that leverage our core strengths and build on the BlackBerry brand.

When I became CEO just over six months ago, I knew this would be a difficult and challenging job. RIM was ? and remains ? at a crucial juncture in its history. In response to our tough quarterly results last week, our employees received thousands of emails from around the world from retail customers, carrier partners, developers, family, friends and neighbors expressing their support and loyalty to BlackBerry. They are ? like many of us - BlackBerry people by choice.

It reminded me just how much opportunity and promise there is within RIM, and how much of what makes BlackBerry special stems from our status as a small-town Canadian company.

While some who have never made the drive to Waterloo pontificate about software they have not seen or devices they have not touched, developers around the world are getting increasingly excited about the possibilities BlackBerry 10 offers. They see that innovation remains a core principle stretching back to RIM's earliest days above a bagel shop.

So don't count BlackBerry out.

Thorsten Heins is President and Chief Executive Officer of Research In Motion, Ltd.

Source: BlackBerry Connection Newsletter

What do you think - does RIM have a chance to survive, or is Thorsten Heins delusional? Discuss.

[Kelxin]

I know I haven't counted them out.

I just haven't counted them period in over 2 years. RIM is dead, there is no bringing them back at this point.

[Orange Battery]

All competition is good for us, the customer.

Fan boys and other sheep do nothing but hurt themselves in the long run as their beloved companies get lazy.

I hope BB does come back stronger than ever and that it gives everyone a run for their money. I currently have the HTC One X - I prefer Android over the other OS choices and I didn't like the design of the Galaxy s3.

Id personally like a BB device that had android, I like a keyboard - Ive missed it ever since I left my Nokia N73. Maybe RIM should consider opening their hardware to Windows and Android - They would have an android customer right here.

[Astra.Xtreme]

The only chance they have is to keep posting optimism in hopes that investors won't keep selling off the stock.

In reality, it's just a matter of time before their stock hits zero or they file for bankruptcy. They are just way too far behind.

If Blackberry 10 is anything but earth-shatteringly perfect, it will be RIM's last gasp.

[Melfster]

If they are not out why did they hire a Goldman Sacks to "explore strategic options."

[(Spork)]

hope its true we need more competition

[Charisma Veteran]

I just got a Bold 9900 to replace my 9780, and I'm really impressed with the device and the OS (7, can't wait to see 10). All I liked about my old phone--the hardware keyboard and touch-scroll button, the solid hardware and nice UI, but improved. In addition to those it has a larger, crisper screen that is touch-enabled, I love having both hardware and touch controls. The design is sleek, the processor is fast, and the UI is nice and intuitive and all my settings, etc moved over flawlessly from the old one. Normally I tend to resist change or take a while to get used to new devices, but this one had no break-in period, just works.

I really think they do some solid work, I wish they hadn't lagged so far behind for so long, but they've proven in the past they can pioneer new ground and create a great product. Can't wait to see them do it again.

[xeleraph]

I hope he's right. I'm going to be very annoyed indeed if RIM goes bankrupt or gets sold off to another company before I can get my hands on a BB10 device.

[Miuku.]

I wouldn't even know RIM exists if it weren't for the Net.

I have never seen anyone with a Blackberry. Not a single person and I've been to quite a few places around the globe in my previous job.

[Tha Bloo Monkee]

^ that's odd I've seen some today already.

[Charisma Veteran]

I wouldn't even know RIM exists if it weren't for the Net.

I have never seen anyone with a Blackberry. Not a single person and I've been to quite a few places around the globe in my previous job.

Odd, I see them quite a bit in Asia, and know a few friends in the UK that have them (we BBM often). And in the US, earlier this week I was in the doctor's office and a girl in the waiting room saw mine and said "Oh, is that the new BlackBerry? Those are so cool, can I see it?" so... Guess it depends on where you look and what you're looking for ;)

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

I wouldn't even know RIM exists if it weren't for the Net.

I have never seen anyone with a Blackberry. Not a single person and I've been to quite a few places around the globe in my previous job.

Walk around the banking district in Frankfurt and you'll see a lot of people using BlackBerry devices. I know several people like +3 Charisma who use one by choice because they prefer a smartphone which lets them do actual work over other fruity devices a major selling point of which are a multitude of fart apps...

[Miuku.]

Odd, I see them quite a bit in Asia

Didn't see a single one. I saw a ton of Nokias, HTCs, Samsungs and some weirdo phones in Asia and a bunch of iPhones, Samsungs and Motorolas in the States.

I mostly did work with TV-related people anyway - perhaps Blackberry isn't popular with media and telecommunications people :p

[Vice]

I don't see Blackberry clawing back from this death spiral. I think they are destined to become the next Palm and probably be bought up by Dell or some other computer company.

[Ryoken]

RIM is still around o_0 Who knew..

In any case.. they will never recover their pirch.. They might survive, but they will never dominate like they once did..

[(Spork)]

I wouldn't even know RIM exists if it weren't for the Net.

I have never seen anyone with a Blackberry. Not a single person and I've been to quite a few places around the globe in my previous job.

your just not looking hard enough then

[xpablo]

RIM will have to come out with something that will be better than an iPhone and up to par with newer android devices.

Personally I doubt they will do it, They'll release the BB10 and if it fails the company will be finished,

[Knife Party]

just got a curve 9360 today :D Go RIM

[Kelxin]

your just not looking hard enough then

https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1079429-todays-youth-not-fit-to-be-employed/page__p__594885799#entry594885799

[Knife Party]

I wouldn't even know RIM exists if it weren't for the Net. I have never seen anyone with a Blackberry. Not a single person and I've been to quite a few places around the globe in my previous job.

I think you must be blind then :/

[Scorbing]

Yeah. The question is: For how much longer can they keep floating?

[Growled Member]

That's a good question. With their corporate presence it might be longer than you think.

[(Spork)]

http://www.neowin.ne...#entry594885799

and ?

[grik]

I hope that they arent out of the market, but right now they are out of the game.

Just bring the best in new tech, display, camera, and use a nice coding language for the programers work their apps. Right now BB most expensive phones are just for people who want a keyboard or just because they are fancy enough to not adopt Android or iOS devices.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

I wouldn't even know RIM exists if it weren't for the Net.

I have never seen anyone with a Blackberry. Not a single person and I've been to quite a few places around the globe in my previous job.

Well unless you actually identify every phone that passes your eyes I'm sure you easily miss a large number of devices that are in active use around you. I don't think RIM is in a good position right now, but to claim that they are so bad off that you can't see their devices in use in various places around the world would have to be factually incorrect.

They still have a very large install base because giants don't die overnight.