[dbmalloy]

Had to look twice to make sure it was on The Verge... good read...

Here's why Samsung should buy BlackBerry | The Verge

Here's why Samsung should buy BlackBerry
BlackBerry is worth more than you might think, particularly to Samsung
By Vlad Savov on January 15, 2015 11:09 am Email @vladsavov

In the space of a few hours last night, BlackBerry�s value on the stock market skyrocketed by nearly a third and then promptly plummeted back down. The catalyst for that rollercoaster ride was a Reuters report alleging Samsung was courting BlackBerry with a $7.5 billion takeover bid, which was quickly refuted by officials from both Waterloo and Seoul. Though it�s now apparent that no imminent acquisition is in the offing, the mere rumor of Samsung buying BlackBerry proved appealing enough to get people to invest real money in it.

Setting aside the credulity of overeager investors, there are three big reasons that can justify BlackBerry�s price and they all relate to its potential value to a global giant like Samsung.

BlackBerry�s well-documented struggles as a smartphone maker tend to obscure the strength of its enterprise business. BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) is the gold standard for securing and managing mobile business communications, having been deployed by thousands of private and public organizations around the world. This market is unglamorous but reliably profitable, and Samsung has already demonstrated an appetite for it with its own Knox initiative on Android. Knox showed early momentum with approval for use by the US Department of Defense in 2013, however its security has since been called into question by a series of discovered vulnerabilities. Samsung�s response has been to integrate BlackBerry�s end-to-end encryption into Knox starting this year, but that solves only half the problem. Even under a best case scenario, Knox will take a long time to just get Samsung in through the office door, whereas the Korean company is looking to be a corporate player right away.

BLACKBERRY UNLOCKS THE LUCRATIVE MARKET FOR ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES
Big businesses have an ingrained reluctance to changing established practices, which makes the incumbent BES unlikely to be ousted from its leading position any time soon. Acquiring ownership of it would solve two problems at once for Samsung: the Korean company would immediately become a major presence in offices everywhere and its revenue sheet would add a consistent source of income. That�s particularly salient to Samsung as it tries to overhaul its all-important mobile devices division and revive flagging sales, but there�s pretty much no big tech company that wouldn�t benefit from the addition of BES. Together with BlackBerry Messenger � which is also cross-platform, usable on iPhones and Android handsets as well as BlackBerrys � BES marks a spectacular upgrade over Samsung�s in-house Knox and recently cancelled ChatOn efforts.

The crown jewel, in the words of CEO John Chen, of BlackBerry�s remaining assets is the QNX software platform. Noted for its security and flexibility, QNX is the predominant software used in modern car infotainment systems, even providing the basis for Apple�s CarPlay and recently supplanting Microsoft in Ford�s Sync 3. Samsung is going after the connected car and QNX is already there. Instead of fighting an uphill battle against the better software designers at Apple and Google, Samsung can establish a strong position for itself in smart vehicles by providing the platform underpinning middleware like CarPlay and Android Auto.

Besides smarter cars, the other big theme of the Consumer Electronics Show that just wrapped up in Las Vegas was the Internet of Things (IoT), where Samsung has again expressed a desire to be a leader. As it happens, QNX has a number of IoT-related use cases � covering diverse industries like aerospace, defense, security systems, and medical devices � that would help Samsung�s plans for future growth. Those capabilities could be expanded more readily with Samsung�s depth of resources and breadth of operations, making QNX one of the top reasons Samsung would desire BlackBerry.

THE INTERNET OF QNX-POWERED SAMSUNG THINGS COULD BE FORMIDABLE
The third pillar of BlackBerry�s enduring value is its patent portfolio. Decades of research and development into wireless systems and devices have built up an enviably deep pool of intellectual property. Valuations vary, but the patents by themselves would be worth billions of dollars, and Reuters� source actually names them as the key attraction for Samsung. Through its subsidiary, Certicom, BlackBerry owns 130 highly regarded encryption patents � some of which are used by the NSA � that could come into play as more companies and services better secure their software and seek licensing to utilize those patents. We�ve already seen Google spend significantly more on acquiring Motorola�s library of patents, and BlackBerry�s might be the last appealing bundle of intellectual property left on the market. If Samsung doesn�t go aggressively after it, odds are that someone else will.

Decoupling BlackBerry�s smartphone production from the rest of its operations helps to illuminate the company�s strengths, but any takeover would have to account for BlackBerry�s still significant hardware business. It continues to lag badly behind Android and the iPhone, and though BlackBerry OS is improving, the ecosystem gap is so vast that there�s little hope of it ever catching up. If there�s any ray of sunshine, it would come from a giant of Samsung�s stature putting its marketing and manufacturing muscle behind BB OS. For Samsung, the motivation would be the same as the one driving it to persist with its unloved Tizen OS in spite of little external support: avoiding an all-out reliance on Google and its Android platform. Still, with Samsung unlikely to shift its smartphone production or design, taking over BlackBerry phones would be accepting a liability rather than gaining an asset.

In an overheated tech market where unprofitable social apps fetch valuations in the tens of billions of dollars, BlackBerry�s rumored $7.5 billion price feels almost quaint. Yes, the smartphone division is an unholy mess, but BlackBerry is rich on unique advantages whose value would be greatly amplified by being integrated into a larger company with broader operations. Imagine BBM preloaded on every Galaxy device, Blackberry Bridge on every Ativ laptop, BES on every corporate server, and QNX on literally everything. Samsung is the world�s most diverse manufacturer of things and BlackBerry has the pieces to make those things smarter, better connected, and more secure.

[avt123]

I'd rather see Apple or Microsoft purchase BB. Both have a huge corporate presence and can benefit from both QNX (especially for auto) and BES.

[ricocan]

Microsoft benefits for all the same reasons, and would be the most palatable for the majority of those who would be concerned with foreign ownership.

If it has to be Microsoft would be my preference, but I don't have a vote.

Apple would turn me away from the platform, so might Samsung?

Posted via CB10

[Ment]

Samsung, Apple, MS. For the consumer it would end the same, BB10 would get buried or sold off. Probably IBM would be the best chance of BB10 surviving with a new company.

[avt123]

Samsung, Apple, MS. For the consumer it would end the same, BB10 would get buried or sold off. Probably IBM would be the best chance of BB10 surviving with a new company.

Which would make Apple a good buyer since they are already partners with IBM.

[Prem WatsApp]

Microsoft benefits for all the same reasons, and would be the most palatable for the majority of those who would be concerned with foreign ownership.

If it has to be Microsoft would be my preference, but I don't have a vote.

Apple would turn me away from the platform, so might Samsung?

Posted via CB10

No, not Microsoft. Ouch! :-)

They have no POSIX compliant heritage. And I deal with their buggy software almost every single day...

�   2015 - already in full swing - berry good ...   �

[BanffMoose]

Samsung, Apple, MS. For the consumer it would end the same, BB10 would get buried or sold off. Probably IBM would be the best chance of BB10 surviving with a new company.

IBM would kill all of BlackBerry's intellectual assets and brands faster than any of the other companies you mentioned. You want BlackBerry to die, have IBM acquire it.

Besides, IBM already has a MDM solution and an automotive platform. IBM also has problems of their own. They are just now starting to refocus themselves from a financial engineering company to a product and service company.

[Randal Yandal]

Don't fool yourself the fact is this shows how much The Verge knows about QNX yet purposely chooses to selectively not cover it or acknowledge it. Chris Ziegler is the "auto tech guy" but his auto coverage is very very selective an poor. He should be fired or moved from that position imho.



Z30 (10.3.1)

[lnichols]

Samsung obviously would like to get their own OS (or they wouldn't be messing with Tizzen)and with BB10, they would get one that would allow them to go straight into business customers, and their brand recognition would get devs back in board IMHO. Samsung can make devices much cheaper than BlackBerry, has wearable, Smart TVs, wants into Infotainment. I think Samsung buying BlackBerry would be great.

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[Carrtman]

Microsoft or Apple ? No thanks especially ms has destroyed Nokia by using a trojan horse. Apple is well apple arrogant as he'll full of showmans like Schiller and Cook

[ljfong]

It is almost certain that if anyone buys BlackBerry the company, BlackBerry 10 and handset production will be gone for good or at best BlackBerry 10 goes WebOS, a former shadow of itself.

[Tre Lawrence]

Don't fool yourself the fact is this shows how much The Verge knows about QNX yet purposely chooses to selectively not cover it or acknowledge it. Chris Ziegler is the "auto tech guy" but his auto coverage is very very selective an poor. He should be fired or moved from that position imho.



Z30 (10.3.1)

Because he doesn't give QNX the affection you think it deserves?

QNX might not be the crown jewel some folks think it is.

[calicocat2010]

It is almost certain that if anyone buys BlackBerry the company, BlackBerry 10 and handset production will be gone for good or at best BlackBerry 10 goes WebOS, a former shadow of itself.

This entire statement is a scary thought.

[cathulu15]

Verge blows. That is all.

Posted via CB10

[lnichols]

It is almost certain that if anyone buys BlackBerry the company, BlackBerry 10 and handset production will be gone for good or at best BlackBerry 10 goes WebOS, a former shadow of itself.

I don't think so. If you got a name and money like Samsung behind BB10, and put Bb10 on Samsung hardware, then they could probably sell more BES12 and handsets to government and regulated businesses. BlackBerry is losing these customers because of the for sale sign fiasco (takes time for the full ramifications to work out because everyone started trialing other solutions), and because customers are not sure about BlackBerry's future. When you are running a business you don't want to invest in hardware and software that might only be around for a couple years. Samsung buying BlackBerry would probably be a huge selling point to help drive BB10 adoption IMHO.

Posted via CB10

[anon3923428]

BlackBerry doesn't need to be bought out at all. The hell with Samsung, Apple, and especially Microsoft. Microsoft would kill the very being of BlackBerry. Microsoft has lost its edge lately. All BlackBerry needs to do is keep doing what they are doing. Take over with QNX micro kernel and BES and watch everything else unfold from there. Even Samsung ventured now with BlackBerry using BlackBerry technology in the background to secure their KNOC system. Just give it time and you will see.

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[Originalloverman]

No the best chance is and always be BlackBerry as its doing right now and will do amazingly in the future.

QUOTE=Ment;11263002]Samsung, Apple, MS. For the consumer it would end the same, BB10 would get buried or sold off. Probably IBM would be the best chance of BB10 surviving with a new company.[/QUOTE]



Send from the amazing powers of the  Z30

[CarGuy1368]

The Verge is just talking positive about BlackBerry being bought out because they want to finally say, "See? We told you they were failing. We knew this was coming." They're still upset because they said BlackBerry would be dead years ago and it still hasn't happened yet.

Posted via the super amazing BlackBerry Q10

[Tre Lawrence]

The Verge is just talking positive about BlackBerry being bought out because they want to finally say, "See? We told you they were failing. We knew this was coming." They're still upset because they said BlackBerry would be dead years ago and it still hasn't happened yet.

Posted via the super amazing BlackBerry Q10

Upset?

[Randal Yandal]

Because he doesn't give QNX the affection you think it deserves?

QNX might not be the crown jewel some folks think it is.

What? They have 50% market share in automobiles, and Chris Zeigler is the automotive tech guy on The Verge. Its clearly selective reporting obviously.

Z30 (10.3.1)

[Tre Lawrence]

What? They have 50% market share in automobiles, and Chris Zeigler is the automotive tech guy on The Verge. Its clearly selective reporting obviously.

Z30 (10.3.1)

QNX marketshare is not in question. I just don't think articles on it are very compelling.

For example, what would you write about. How would BBRY benefit from said article?

Heck, BBRY itself didn't exactly rave about it.