RIM opens up BlackBerry platform
Research in Motion Ltd. has unveiled another element in its strategy to maintain the stranglehold it has on the corporate mobile messaging market by launching its BlackBerry Connect licensing program. The project, unveiled at the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association’s annual wireless conference and trade show in New Orleans last week, is aimed at offering an open mobile messaging platform to both the corporate and carrier markets.
Corporate IT departments, on one hand, will gain the ability to support multiple devices with a single platform, backend infrastructure and security functionality. Wireless carriers, on the other hand, can leverage their existing investments in the BlackBerry platform and address new market segments.
RIM is also working with device manufacturers to enable connectivity on a variety of different handsets. For example, during the second half of the year RIM and Nokia will begin offering wireless email on the Nokia 6800 messaging phone.
On the same day the BlackBerry Connect program was launched, RIM also announced agreements with specific handset operating system (OS) providers. The company announced agreements with Symbian Ltd. and Microsoft Corp.