Why Microsoft Should Possibly Buy Blackberry
Matthew Sekol
ESG and Sustainability Advocate and Senior Advisor 📘 Author of ESG Mindset and Benevolent Troublemaker
In all honesty, this is a hard sell. I've been supporting Blackberry in various capacities since they were little pager devices (collective Aww...). I've reveled in their downfall though, ultimately believing that ActiveSync was a much better solution than the old BES servers. Regardless, Blackberry is in its final throes, right? Well, maybe. Rumors about Microsoft purchasing them abound!
The Motley Fool recently wrote 3 Reasons Why Microsoft Should Buy Blackberry, but I think they are widely missing the mark. At least I hope so. Let's take a look at 3 reasons why Microsoft shouldn't buy Blackberry and the 1 reason they might.
Why the Fool is Wrong
Reason 1: Keyboard phones targets business users
Had I been drinking when I read this, my monitor would've been splattered with water. iPhones, which are keyboardless, have a massive hold on the Enterprise. As Baby Boomers retire and Millennials come in, only Gen X-ers, like myself, might want keyboards on our phone. Frankly, I don't know anyone who would. This argument seems counter-intuitive to Microsoft's mobile first mantra and the capabilities you get with their Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) solution.
Microsoft believes the user is mobile. Long gone are the days of having 2 devices (work and personal) for the same person. Side note - if you have 2 devices, I'm sad for you, stop being paranoid already! What Microsoft is really driving is a consumer and business experience across one device with Enterprise level protection and segregation with EMS.
The last point listed at the Fool is around porting Blackberry's key features and apps into Microsoft's app store. Microsoft could do this, but why bother? Clearly, Android and Apple have the largest market share. Blackberry itself seems to have given up its own app store and can borrow from Android and Amazon's app stores.
Reason 2: Windows Phone Distribution Channels are In Place
Blackberry had a great distribution channel for years! They aren't having a problem getting their phones out there, the issue is that no one wants them! Would Microsoft purchase Blackberry, convert their phones off Blackberry OS to Windows OS and then distribute? Possibly, but why bother when you have Nokia. Seriously though, I'm sure Blackberry knows how to distribute phones, they just don't seem to be able to sell any.
Microsoft's purchase of Nokia was at a turning point for Nokia. They had dropped out of the world's top 5 phone manufacturers, but had started turning things around with the Lumia line. With Nokia's integration took a long time, would Microsoft bother rescuing a failing Blackberry to do the same hardware rescue again? Man, I hope not.
Reason 3: BlackBerry Messenger could be a signature app
With the leak of Microsoft Flow and the rebranding of Lync to Skype for Business, and the consumer Skype, Microsoft is already sporting 3 chat platforms (arguably 2, but I listed 3, so there you go). Skype does support chat still and, in the Enterprise, Skype for Business underpins all Office collaboration.
Would Microsoft buy Blackberry just for Blackberry Messenger? No. Would Microsoft integrate Blackberry Messenger into Windows 10? No. Would Microsoft integrate the features from Blackberry Messenger into Skype, Skype for Business, and possibly Outlook? This one I could believe.
What's My Take on This?
I'm glad you asked. Admittedly, there could be some hardware IP benefits in Reason 2, but there's something else that caught my eye recently and also came out of a conversation with an insightful co-worker. Amid the layoffs, Blackberry is ensuring Blackberry Messenger and their Enterprise Security Solutions remain in tact. This protects Blackberry's most valuable asset - their IP. Imagine if Microsoft integrated Blackberry's IP into their existing EMS solution and Office 365. They could potentially shift the Enterprise market back to them.
I've long believed any player has an opportunity to recapture share in the mobile phone market because of the refresh cycle of the devices. I'm hopeful that Continuum, Windows 10, and their recently released application development toolsets will help them grow their app store and recapture market. Layering Blackberry's security and encryption IP could make for a powerful play in the Enterprise.
Microsoft does have a problem though if this is their purchase strategy. Blackberry is larger than their IP at the moment and hard decisions will have to be made. The offer from Microsoft shouldn't be large enough to cover everything Blackberry is doing currently, but where they are heading - to a niche mobile security player. If this vision is realized, Microsoft will get the true value of Blackberry.
About Matthew Sekol:
Matthew Sekol is an Microsoft Solutions Sales Lead with a degree from Penn State in English. With a mix of creativity and a passion for computers, he has a unique perspective on life, business and technology.
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Director - Cloud Presales | C-Suite Executive with a growth mindset, passionate about leading cloud operations, strategic planning & creating sustainable strategies.
9yI feel if this move was done a but earlier then if would have been great but if it's now I still feel it can fly if they come up with an absaloutely new OS may be called BerrySoft which people who be enthusiastic to use it.
Microsoft Azure | VMware | NAS | SAN | Problem Solver
9yThanks for this article Matt I am one of those users with 2 devices and yes one is a blackberry. I have already promised myself that it is coming to an end and will be going to one device in the near future. I do think blackberry has a great product it is just to little to late.
You should change the title of this article...I fell for the click bait :-)