research in motion logoResearch in Motion (RIM), seeking to stabilize its enterprise business amid continued challenges from iOS and Android, today announced a new package of enterprise tools known as Mobile Fusion designed to support a broad range of devices at the corporate level.

“We are pleased to introduce BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – RIM’s next generation enterprise mobility solution – to make it easier for our business and government customers to manage the diversity of devices in their operations today,” said Alan Panezic, Vice President, Enterprise Product Management and Marketing at Research In Motion. “BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings together our industry-leading BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology for BlackBerry devices with mobile device management capabilities for iOS and Android devices, all managed from one web-based console. It provides the necessary management capabilities to allow IT departments to confidently oversee the use of both company-owned and employee-owned mobile devices within their organizations.”

Mobile Fusion will provide corporate customers with an array of device management tools, including centralized remote locking and/or wiping of lost devices and enforcement of password requirements.

Apple offers a number of enterprise tools and capabilities for iOS to help companies manage their device deployments, but cross-platform device management services such as RIM's Mobile Fusion target increasingly diverse mobile deployments as companies offer their employees new levels of flexibility in choosing their mobile platforms.

RIM has long been a leader in business mobile platforms, but has been losing ground to iOS and Android as those platforms have caught on with both consumers and enterprise customers. With Apple also gaining traction in enterprise markets with the iPad, RIM has tried to respond with new devices including its PlayBook tablet device, but has so far been unable to slow the momentum of iOS and Android. The company's new Mobile Fusion tools, which are in early beta testing now and scheduled for public launch in March, demonstrate that diversification in enterprise and highlight RIM's efforts to hold on to its relevancy in its key markets.

Top Rated Comments

*LTD* Avatar
177 months ago
Don't forget people were saying the same thing as Apple was working on the first iPod.
Apple had Steve Jobs.

RIM has two turkeys that saw the avalanche coming four years ago but went on clucking. All they actually did was deny, deny, deny, and verbally downplay Apple's direction as best they could. Are these two to be trusted at all?

Somehow they'll just "grow" vision miraculously years later? I'm afraid we've seen the best Ballsilie and Laziridis can do already. And there doesn't seem to be a Steve Jobs-type visionary in sight to help them.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hchung Avatar
177 months ago
I really should just stop reading any RIM-related articles here. This sort of "Apple rocks, everyone else must die" attitude makes me sick. Do you think that the engineers that work at Apple are just naturally smarter or hard-working as those elsewhere? Do you really wish layoffs on thousands of people?

I know a bunch of guys who work at RIM and QNX, they are hard working, passionate people. When my job was threatened by layoffs at my company, I was reassured by the fact that RIM and QNX were hiring. A lot of my ex-coworkers ended up over there. They have families to feed and mortgages to pay off, just like everyone else.

I guess the best hope for my friends and the rest of the employees at RIM is that upper management will figure it out and put the company on track for some successes. I feel like they need it after some of the recent bad press.

Apple "figured that out" by being the one to make it happen. Before Apple, smartphones like Blackberries, Nokia N95, Palm Treo, etc. were for business people and power users only. Your average mom or teenager had no use for one.

You might say the two companies went at it from opposite approaches. Smartphones for consumers (with limited penetration into enterprise markets) and vice versa. The race is on to see which will reach the other side quicker.

Yes, there's some people here who will always be cheering for Apple and deriding other companies. But there's many of us who are simply being realistic.

The real problem is that RIM has very little chance of survival. As much as I'd like to see them turn around (mostly because QNX is freakin' awesome), I have little confidence that they will figure out a new plan before going out of business.

Apple was once the beleaguered company. Except during their turnaround, they had a few things they could rely on that together helped them stay afloat:
1) entrenched markets that were not being met well by competitors : film, computer graphics, audio
2) die-hard fanbase
3) willingness to make hard decisions; willingness to cut products that didn't help the recovery; willingness to focus
4) willingness to try to branch out and try new things; willingness to try new markets; internal research groups doing actual research
5) a consumer market to market to (amongst the other markets)

RIM doesn't have nearly the same resources to utilize in order to turn themselves around.

The release of tools that involve the use of iOS and Android is an example of trying something different. But this doesn't stem the bleeding of customers, nor does it easily translate to a reliable income stream. (remind you of Sun and Java?)

They have a fanbase. But unfortunately, it's shrinking.

They don't do general consumer devices, which would be the bigger market. Just business-oriented devices. But iOS and Android is eating away at them there. Even then, HP/Palm and MS shows how difficult going for the general consumer is.

Unless they feel like going an all-in on a completely new product category that just blows everybody out of the water, I wouldn't be surprised if they were gone in 3 years.

(and yes, I used to own a blackberry too)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
notjustjay Avatar
177 months ago
I give them 2yrs lol

I really should just stop reading any RIM-related articles here. This sort of "Apple rocks, everyone else must die" attitude makes me sick. Do you think that the engineers that work at Apple are just naturally smarter or hard-working as those elsewhere? Do you really wish layoffs on thousands of people?

I know a bunch of guys who work at RIM and QNX, they are hard working, passionate people. When my job was threatened by layoffs at my company, I was reassured by the fact that RIM and QNX were hiring. A lot of my ex-coworkers ended up over there. They have families to feed and mortgages to pay off, just like everyone else.

I guess the best hope for my friends and the rest of the employees at RIM is that upper management will figure it out and put the company on track for some successes. I feel like they need it after some of the recent bad press.

A few years ago, people used to bring their BB home to work and to get access to their emails. Now, people want to bring their personal phone at work to work and to get access to their emails. Apple figured that out a long time ago.

Apple "figured that out" by being the one to make it happen. Before Apple, smartphones like Blackberries, Nokia N95, Palm Treo, etc. were for business people and power users only. Your average mom or teenager had no use for one.

You might say the two companies went at it from opposite approaches. Smartphones for consumers (with limited penetration into enterprise markets) and vice versa. The race is on to see which will reach the other side quicker.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ugahairydawgs Avatar
177 months ago
Probably gives you a hint about how they feel internally about the long term viability of their hardware business.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skika Avatar
177 months ago
RIM should focus heavily on corporate services.

Only way i see them survive.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kylebshr Avatar
177 months ago
I think they'll be dead within 4 years
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...