article

saving blackberry

[WHAT - about]

1. ] John Chen was drawn to a puzzle few believed could be solved: finding a sustainable path forward for the iconic Canadian company as the BlackBerry smartphone, the signature product around which the whole company was built—continues to lose market share and sink further into irrelevance.

[WHY]

1. ] Chen saw overlooked potential,
1. ] including an admired ] secure corporate network business that could thrive in an era of hacking and spying; ] a device business that still has a strong presence in many emerging markets; and a ] global market of millions of users who prefer to use an actual keyboard rather than a touchscreen version.
2. ] he started his journey by rocking a z10
1. ] Like many former “CrackBerry” addicts, Chen converted to an Apple iPhone years ago, switching back when he joined BlackBerry “I never use the iPhone any more,” he says. “The iPhone now feels like a toy. I don’t think you’ll find [I’m] the only person saying it.’”
3. ] Blackberry's story sounds familiar to Chen,
   
1. ] Sybase had been an early leader in the electronic database market in the 1980s, but by 1997 it was a chronic money-loser, shedding revenues and what little market share it had left to Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. Sybase had a reputation for buggy software, for being out of touch with its customers and for failing to adapt to changes in its market. Instead of addressing its core challenges, Sybase went on an acquisition binge that did little to help.
4. ] who was credited for forseeing mobile ( sort of) ...
   
1. ] Chen’s decision to own a market that barely existed in the late 1990s: mobility. “I really think that’s where the world is going,” he said in August, 1999. Today, Chen’s move to embrace mobility looks visionary. But it was born out of circumstances he inherited. Database software for the fledgling mobile market was too small an opportunity to interest Sybase’s much larger competitors. “I backed into it,” Chen says. “I asked the right questions at the time, not knowing it was so transformational.”
2. ] By 2010, mobility represented one-third of Sybase’s forecasted revenue of $1.2 billion; it was a key draw when SAP agreed to pay $65 a share—13 times the value around the time Chen became CEO.
5. ] but, this could be a problem, Chen doesn't listen
1. ] Krause says Chen “didn’t take kindly to feedback, constructive or negative....He likes to do things his way, and that’s both a strength and a weakness.” It’s an observation Chen doesn’t dispute, but he adds that its veracity “depends on the time. If I’m in the mode of seeking ideas and advice, I’m very receptive. If I am already in execution mode, I’m not really that receptive. Because I am a believer that you could design something to death, and you would have not only missed the market, you would actually miss getting anything done.”
6. ] on the mistakes of the last regime, he's not laying blame, but ...
   
1. ] dropping the subscription model for BIS was likely a mistake.

[WHERE]

1. ] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/john-chens-simple-plan-to-save-blackberry/article17065516/?page=all

[WHEN]

1. ] 2014-02

[EXAMPLE - the plan ]

1. ] needs a direct sales force
   
1. ] beleives he needs: a direct sales force that speaks one-on-one with customers who have the most to gain from using BlackBerry. These sectors—government and “regulated” industries such as banks, insurance and health care—benefit most from BlackBerry’s industry-leading security, and they tend to be home to users who appreciate the efficiency of a physical keyboard compared to a touchscreen.
2. ] vertical applications
1. ] building out “vertical applications” that are connected to a customer’s internal systems and run on the BlackBerry network. The company hasn’t offered much in the way of enterprise applications beyond the basics of e-mail, calendar and contacts. “With increasing power in our devices, there’s more opportunity for enterprises to do more on mobile devices than before,” says John Sims . “It’s not an opportunity we’ve missed, but one we can participate in.” The company had few details to offer at press time but promised to start revealing its plans in late February
3. ] QNX
1. ] Chen has likewise talked up the ability of his QNX software division to power “machine-to-machine” communications,
4. ] DEVICES
   
1. ] Remaining in the handset business is important—for now, at least. “I think devices are still one component of the solution,” Chen says. “The question is, Do we need to be in the device business? That remains to be seen.”
5. ] BBM
1. ] peddling the company’s BlackBerry Messenger instant messaging application as a tool for enterprise users
6. ] overall
1. ] Over all, Chen wants BlackBerry to transform itself from being a “mobile technology company” that pushes handset sales to “a mobile solutions company” that takes a broader approach to serving the mobile computing needs of its customers.

[HOW-is-it-going- so far ]

1. ] overhauling the senior management team, recruiting a group of experienced executives he knows and trusts.
1. ] Mark Wilson - as senior vice-president of marketing, brings extensive experience building brand preference and driving integrated marketing for a number of well-known companies. OUT Frank Boulben,
2. ] James S. Mackey - new Executive Vice President for Corporate Development and Strategic Planning
3. ] John Sims - new President of global enterprise services, a recruit from SAP/Sybase

[REFERENCE]

1. ] REVIEW saving blackberry
1. ] By Don Sagrott - A REVIEW of john chens simple plan to save BBRY and how it's going

 

Details

ID: 3570

NAME: John-Chens-simple-plan-to-save-blackberry

DESCRIPTION: By Sean Silcoff @financialTimes - finding a sustainable path forward for the iconic Canadian company as the BlackBerry smartphone, sinks further into irrelevance

AUTHOR: article.author/s

EDITOR: article.editor/s

PUBLISHER: article.publisher/s

STATUS: Write

PRIORITY: 0

OWNER ID: 75

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