Research in Motion (RIM) has released a statement regarding their mobile device management solutions and where the company is headed in general. They seek to inform their consumers that they aren’t out of the game, but adapting and providing new services that better suit the needs of enterprise clients today.
In the following statement they address their current BlackBerry Enterprise Server and mobile device management (MDM) for the future:
“Organizations are under pressure to support a wide variety of devices from multiple manufacturers, as well as multiple form factors, with tablets gaining steam as business tools. As a longstanding pillar of MDM in the enterprise, we’ve worked to provide a clean, simple, and secure solution to help you manage whatever gets thrown your way. This is BlackBerry Mobile Fusion.”
So they’ve replaced their old service with the comprehensive new BlackBerry Fusion. RIM comments:
“It’s a huge leap forward for device management, and it’s built on the valued security model introduced with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The evolution of BlackBerry Enterprise Server is BlackBerry Mobile Fusion.”
RIM has integrated all the Blackberry corporate data security features that users have enjoyed in the past with new technology and have added iOS and Android to their management system as well. They claim it will interface seamlessly with all of these devices and provide users with an enhanced experience that can be trusted to deliver by even the most discerning IT professionals.
RIM comments on the addition of other devices to their management systems:
“BlackBerry Mobile Fusion supports the latest MDM capabilities available in iOS and Android, and is designed to enable administrators to apply corporate policies and configurations to manage and secure these devices. Additionally, customers will be able to leverage the application management capabilities of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion to manage the distribution of mobile applications to employees on these platforms.”
So it seems they have plans to stick around despite the declining popularity of BlackBerry products and services. It could be their new platform could help revive their brand or at the very least entice existing clients to stick with them. It helps that they can interface with other devices now.
We’ll have to wait and see how this all pans out for RIM and their BlackBerry branded products. Apple seems like it is the new enterprise leader so it all depends on how they can compete with them and make their products more attractive. Right now, that’s a lofty challenge.