FollowBlackberry was once the king of business mobile phone industry. In the last couple of years, Blackberry went through massive restructuration. After two years, the process comes to an end. John Chen, Blackberry CEO since November 2013, wants to put the company on a new track. Now that Blackberry acquires Secusmart, a new important direction is communication security. Secusmart is a “the leading expert in the development and implementation of comprehensive anti-eavesdropping solutions for German government agencies and organisations responsible for the provision of emergency services as well as governments and public authorities abroad”, according to their presentation.
Privacy concerns rose to unprecedented levels in the last couple of years. The Asange and Snowden affairs convinced governments to tighten up their communication security. In the age of big data, it does not matter so much anymore if the entity is a public or a private body, so corporations intend as well to protect themselves against eavesdropping.
Apple teamed up with IBM to offer iPads and iPhones to corporations seeking specific services and Blackberry attempts to maintain its position with the acquisition of Secusmart. We talked back in June about how Blackberry will now offer all Amazon apps.
Blackberry acquires Secusmart to offer security solutions to public and private bodies
Blackberry and Secusmart have been partners since 2009, but from now on Blackberry wants to have full control over the communication security development plans. Companies, as well as government agencies, are Secusmart clients. The German government wants even more of its members to use Blackberry devices. More than 3000 Ministery of Interior members already use Secusmart equipped Blackberry handsets, according to Ubergizmo. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, uses a Blackberry handset as well, but this did not stop the American foreign intelligence to tap it, causing a diplomatic scandal. Canadian government members use the company’s handsets too.
A phone with Secusmart installed costs 2000 euros, according to ValueWalk. The technology developed by Secusmart applies to mobile phones, as well to landlines, still widely used in the private and public sectors.
Chen says the company will start hire new people soon after the lay-offs will finish at the end of July. The company will hire new people at a slower reserved pace, to avoid past financial mistakes. Blackberry acquires Secusmart and it might be a first step in a new age of growth for the Canadian company.
