1. anon(1464249)'s Avatar
    WHOOOO, hold your horses and hear me out

    BlackBerry is in a bad place right now, once the pioneer of wireless technology, now the runt of the litter that can't keep up.
    I've been thinking long and hard about this from a personal as well as professional perspective and I'd like to share my thoughts with CrackBerry.

    First a little info about me. I've been working in the financial sector for close to 7 years now, hired right out of college to end up in risk management and corporate crisis management. My 'workfield' does not extend to companies with HQ's outside of European borders but since BlackBerry has a special place in my heart I made an exception.

    If any of you guys find my real identity online, please note that the views I'm about to divulge, are mine and mine only, I am posting this as a personal opinion and not the opinion of my employer or anyone else. That being said, I'd appreciate it if you don't go actively searching for me online, if you need me you can always PM me here or ask for my PIN.

    Good so now that's out of the way, let's get to it.
    ------

    The Future of BlackBerry is RIM.


    Section 1 'Management' (Plea to bring back Mike and Jim)
    Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie the founder and the marketing guy are old news, dinosaurs in the rapidly evolving world of technology, or are they?


    A brief history...

    Mike Lazaridis is known in the technology world as a visionary, a man with a plan and the tenacity to execute that plan no matter what the cost. He is the one that envisioned BlackBerry and he is the one that I feel should be brought back to his old position as CEO. Not only did he envision BlackBerry, Mike still has an affinity to technology and funded the Institute for Quantum Computing (2002), the Perimeter Instute of Theoretical Physics (1999) and Quantum Valley Investments (2013). The man knows his physics and has access to advanced research on quantum computing (need I say more?).

    While some of you feel he's old, unflexible and basically the reason the oh so successful BlackBerry engine started to stutter. I however, feel that after the great outage of 2011, Mike and Jim were put under so much pressure they felt it was for the good of the company to take a step back.

    Jim Balsillie spearheaded the marketing machine that made BlackBerry great, he was brought in to oversee business development and he did what was asked. The two-headed hydra reigned supreme. He brought BlackBerry to the masses and made sure it stayed there. His resignation as co-ceo was in my opinion a direct result of the fallout of the great outage of 2011.


    The new guys... Let's talk about Heins & co.

    Thorsten Heins CEO, started with BlackBerry in 2007. I can sum up his previous titles before he became CEO but those are all irrelevant. Heins was introduced in January of 2012, moments after the 'Mike and Jim resignation'. Before he worked at BlackBerry he worked at SIEMENS, now this is relevant, as he made some rather deep cuts in personnel when at Siemens, being heralded as a though but fair manager.

    Unfortunately, cutting personnel to decrease cost does not a CEO make. At BlackBerry, Heins is doing what he does best, the numbers game. Get the costs down to increase the revenue without zooming in on the underlying problems in the BlackBerry business model. Something that became painstakingly obvious when announcing BlackBerry's shift on focus to the 'prosumer'.

    Instead of fixing the obvious problems in the business model, it remains the same save from a shift to consumers who are willing to pay a premium (= prosumers) for their phone. Thorsten wasn't CEO material in 2012 and he still isn't CEO material in 2013. Most international news outlets gave him the benefit of the doubt, as did the CrackBerry community. He lasted a total of 2 years and 10 months. Game over Thorsten.

    Anyone wanting to read some quotes or seeing Thorsten introduce himself in 2012 I recommend this article: New RIM CEO Thorsten Heins - Business - CBC News
    BE WARNED. This leaves a rather foul taste in your mouth when reading his quotes and seeing the video.

    Brian Bidulka CFO, started with BlackBerry in 2005. One of the lesser known but not less important executive at BlackBerry. He's the guy that made sure BlackBerry always had money in the bank. Keep this man on as CFO, he has proven he knows his stuff. Enough said.

    Frank Boulben CMO, started with BlackBerry in June 2012, handpicked by Thorsten. His resume boasts some amazing feats but that's about it. In case people are guessing what CMO is, it stands for Chief Marketing Officer. Yeah that's right, he's the guy in charge of marketing, or rather the lack off. One of Thorsten's biggest mistakes and I consider him the biggest nail in BlackBerry's coffin. More about him in section 2. Exit Boulben and welcome back Jim.

    Kristian Tear COO, started with BlackBerry in August 2012, handpicked by Thorsten. Similar to Boulben, his resume boasts some pretty impressive positions. Reading his job description on Blackberry.com he is basically the guy responsible for global sales, ouch. Let's all hold a moment of silence for Kristians inevitable departure and then shout out in joy and excitement "welcome back Jim."

    Steve Zipperstein CLO, started with BlackBerry in July 2012, placed at BlackBerry by Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA). Don't know what to think about this one actually. He hasn't really sprung into action yet (arguably neither has the rest) but the new class action lawsuit that was filed days ago might bring him into the daylight. Hopefully he stays on and doesn't run for cover. I'm thinking we'll see a voluntary exit from Zipperstein shortly after BlackBerry has been acquired.


    My opinion? Get BlackBerry private and bring the dinosaurs back. (I'm pretty sure you fantasized about this as a kid, so let's make it happen)
    They both have a tremendous amount of knowledge between them, not to mention a certain synergy that works to their benefits. Get both CEO's back. Put Mike on research and development and Jim on Marketing and Finance. Let them handpick their own team to surround them and give them time to do what they do best, building from the bottom to the top. Mike leading research and development and Jim leading marketing and Business Development will undoubtedly bring forth a new and interesting wind at BlackBerry.


    Summary: I talked briefly about Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in this section, also a bit about the current executive team and why the new kids need to scoot over and let the grown ups show them what's what.



    Section 2 'The similarities to that other technological pioneer' (The critical view of BlackBerry now)

    It's spooky how the BlackBerry situation resembles the Nokia situation. Let me demonstrate.

    -
    September 2010 - Stephen Elop announced as CEO of Nokia.
    January 2012 - Thorsten Heins announced as CEO of BlackBerry.

    -
    February 2011 - announcement that Nokia will shift to WP.
    2013 - Blackberry is focusing on BBOS 10 and BBOS 7 in different markets

    -
    2011-2012 - About 20,000 Nokia employees get the boot
    2011-2013 - About 7,000 BlackBerry employees get the boot

    -
    May 2013 - Announcement they're being bought by Microsoft
    September 2013 - Announcement Fairfax made an offer to buy

    -
    2013 - Bonus controversy, Stephen gets 18 million after the acquisition by Microsoft (negotiated on the same day the sale went down)
    2013 - Departure controversy, Thorsten stands to receive 55 million after being acquired (negotiated by Prem Watsa, chairman of Fairfax)

    Are we seeing a new form of business takeover strategies? Get someone in there that botches things up so a takeover is possible and be handsomely rewarded? Perhaps. But as much as I would like to indulge the conspiracy theorists, what's more likely, is the fact that neither Heins nor Elop were CEO material and gave their companies (unwillingly?) the push it needed to fall off the cliff. Being snatched up by the vultures circling.

    Their bonus after acquisition is merely part of the vulture strategy to secure takeover support on the board and possibly to secure public support by the CEO for the takeover.

    Let's face it. BlackBerry is dying. It's not dead yet but it's certainly not enjoying the place it is at right now. Taking BlackBerry private is in my opinion a necessary step but it's not a permanent step. Being private, BlackBerry has a very limited time to reinvent itself before losing even more support. Once they get their strategy sorted out and have a solid business plan they should execute and bring it public again.
    It won't be easy but doing business isn't supposed to be. Not being easy doesn't mean impossible. It's very much possible but some key changes are needed.

    Marketing is non-existent. I have no clue, not even a small one as to why Frank Boulben is being protected. There have been several product launches and marketing opportunities for BlackBerry yet I have yet to see a decent marketing campaign. Clearly something isn't working in the marketing department. The persistent vote of confidence in the CMO has me baffled.

    The biggest marketing opportunity of the year presented itself in the hardest market BlackBerry is competing in. The NSA scandal in America was an opportunity of epic proportions. BlackBerry remained silent. The media choose the BlackBerry side for once and hammered both Android and iOS security to the cross. BlackBerry remained silent. This wasn't in the news for 1 day either, it stayed on the news for several weeks. BlackBerry remained silent. Marketing is either totally mismanaged and if so Boulben should be held liable for the downfall of the BlackBerry brand or Marketing is being held back by upper management....

    Make of it what you want, all I'm saying is that Marketing is an empty shell department. I won't be surprised if it turns out to be one guy with mad photoshop skillz yo.


    Summary: I talked about conspiracy theories. That's basically it, I mean conspiracy theories right?....Right?....



    Section 3 'What needs to be done, right now' (The announcement of the super plan)

    This is the section people were waiting for. What to do to fix this mess. Oh, thanks for sticking with this post so far.
    Hold on cause this will be a little shock. Bring back RIM.

    RIM should be brought back and function as an umbrella corporation. I made a cute little mindmap to explain...
    The Future of BlackBerry is RIM.-efbl7hfgq.jpg

    Let me comment on it.
    The way I see it is to bring back Research In Motion and have 1 whole subsidiary, BlackBerry Inc
    Let's first focus on the top half (everything above the Research In Motion balloon).

    These 5 should exist as branches under the RIM trademark. They include just about anything to justify the separation of them with the BlackBerry brand and would insure the profitability of RIM.
    RIM would basically be a holding / research / MVNO company licensing various parts in it's portfolio and providing services to 3rd parties.

    1. Patent portfolio
    This is a no brainer. Patents should be stripped out of the BlackBerry company and brought in under RIM. This would allow RIM to license their patents and BBOS10 to 3rd parties, regardless of what happens to the BlackBerry brand. BlackBerry Inc. would in essence be licensing technology of RIM in order to keep providing the BlackBerry smartphone. I included the Android Runtime and Appworld so these can be licensed to others. The Android Runtime is provided under the Apache2 license effectively allowing it to be released for commercial gain,
    RIM can leverage it's knowledge of modifying the runtime to license it off along with appworld and effectively provide apps to other platforms (WP,...) Any and all licenses from RIM to BlackBerry Inc. should be privileged and free of charge.
    RIM should also create a developer roadmap, actively pursuing Android, native BB developers and working with them to put their app out there. More evangelists are needed and they need to be sent out.

    2. RIM cloud / NOC services
    The RIM cloud is another service that can easily be licensed to 3rd parties; don't get me wrong, I'm not peddling this as a storage cloud for BlackBerry's, I'm envisioning this as more of a medium, a cache if you will. Combine this with the private secure network (NOC) they have in place and the sky is the limit. Big file transfers, caching of static data per region, temporary encrypted file storage (� la SnapChat), true peer-to-peer, custom encryption messaging (by use of a shared/secret key), encrypted file collaboration, etc... My point is, this already exists but it's seriously being underused...

    3. RIM MVNO
    This warrants it's own section, I'll be explaining this in section 4

    4. BBM
    Now, a lot of you think BBM should be spun off and exist as an independent company. I disagree, if RIM returns then there's no reason this can't exist as a branch under the RIM umbrella.
    RIM can extend the BBM functionality with special security features (self-destruct messaging, manually encrypted peer-to-peer connections,...) and license these extensions to other platforms.
    BBM should become the number one used VOIP system on any mobile phone and through the RIM MVNO do away with roaming charges. A true global phone.
    PS: see my suggestions for BBM here http://forums.crackberry.com/general...re-bbm-834103/

    5. TAT Design
    It's time to let the TAT design team loose on every product with a GUI and bring the product's GUI up to speed. (BBM, BES Interface, BB10 OS, apps,...). No offence but since the acquisition I haven't seen them produce anything special, maybe they were assigned to Frank's department...
    Everything with a GUI should pass through the TAT Design department before being released.

    Now let's focus on the bottom half (everything under the Research In Motion balloon).

    1. BlackBerry Inc
    BlackBerry Inc. should exist as a whole subsidiary of RIM. Basically it should be reduced to a company that envisions the hardware side of things and bringing it to market. Totally cutting off BlackBerry Inc. and putting it out there as a complete separate entity would rapidly evolve in bankruptcy. Keep it as a subsidiary, provide it with everything it needs and watch it slowly but surely rise again. BlackBerry Inc. should have the exclusive rights for X amount of time on any new technology/breakthroughs RIM produces which would give it an edge in the market.

    BIS and BES should remain with the BlackBerry subsidiary as well as BlackBerry protect. BlackBerry Media should be a new project to launch a front for a store that contains, music, videos and on demand tv and news. Give indie musicians, starting movie directors, college students with something to say, who need to be heard a chance to put their work in the store (free or paid) and make it exclusive to BlackBerry. With the correct marketing this could give BlackBerry rep points with the youth. Give people with something to say a quality platform to share their ideas, most platforms are too swamped with rubbish (Facebook, Twitter) or are clearly not created for it (Snapchat, Vine,...)
    Let me create something and offer it to others for free or for a price, just give me the option and I will use it.

    Summary: Watch the picture and read about the details...



    Section 4 'Haul ***' (RIM as an MVNO)

    Now this is the most radical suggestion I'm about to make and as far as I can tell, hasn't been sling by any forum member of CrackBerry before. If i am mistaken, so be it, I'm still going to explain.

    July 2014 will mark the day that roaming fees in Europe will cease to exist. I'm exaggerating, it will mark the day that incoming costs while roaming inside the EU will be no more. All other roaming costs like costs for text messaging and calling out will still be there until at least 2015. In the long term, this will eventually be faded out as well. If the EU wants something, it doesn't stop for anyone until it has what it wants.

    Here's where RIM should step in and form an MVNO, for people oblivious to the term, MVNO stands for Mobile virtual network operator. Basically a carrier that mooches off the network of another carrier.

    There is huge potential in Africa, Asia and South America. Picture this, being able to pick RIM for your mobile provider, they will provide data only. No minutes, no SMS, no MMS, just data. On top of that, they will provide only 2 options, a monthly subscription based plan and a pay as you go plan. Possibly some options like second call, visual voicemail, 4G, etc...

    The idea is to use BBM as your main tool to call/text. Not everyone will have BBM so in order to stay reachable it will include a VOIP number people can call and you can call people from. No extra charge in case you use WIFI. Your calls on VOIP (no WIFI) to landlines and none VOIP lines would be charged to your data allowance and not in minutes or separate texts.

    Introduce this in Asia, Africa and South America and I'm sure this will be popular. These regions are BlackBerry's growth regions so they can act as a gauge to see how popular this service will be. Blow this up per continent, not per country. Doing this continent based and having a presence in every country on a continent as an MVNO, will effectively kill roaming fees for data usage (no roaming fees between the same MVNO). True global HD calling without added fees. Sign me up.

    PS: having the BIS network to leverage as a VOIP switch is a huge advantage...

    Summary: Would you sign up RIM as your carrier?



    Section 5 'The future is bright' (Reap the benefits)

    Restructure, get management straightened out and don't hold back but take a huge leap and introduce yourself as an MVNO.
    Trim the fat as a private company but don't take too long or we'll all have forgotten you. Reintroduce yourself to the market with some bold moves, and keep moving

    Summary: I totally saved BlackBerry. Wout000 for CEO. No serious, read it and give me your opinion

    I'd like to leave you all with a quote:
    “You have to understand, the BlackBerry didn't happen overnight; it happened over a decade. It's not like one day we woke up and said, 'Eureka!'" - Mike Lazaridis
    ------
    In closing, this is just my personal and professional opinion all rolled into one. I encourage you to comment and express your views about this but please stay on topic and don't be rude.
    If you need me, you can PM me. I will be monitoring this thread. Please do not quote this entire post in your reply if you want to comment on specific sections.

    I wrote this post on several BlackBerry devices over a period of 3 days so if some stuff doesn't check out or you need a more in depth explanation about some parts, tell me and I'll rewrite or adjust if necessary. Stay on topic.
    Last edited by wout000; 10-05-13 at 12:59 PM.
    10-05-13 12:05 PM
  2. AnimalPak200's Avatar
    I agree with the 'MVNO' idea. I had suggested something similar a few months ago, but mostly as a feature to differentiate BB10 devices from others smartphones.

    CrackBerry Clock Contest: Tell us what YOU think it's time for BlackBerry to do next! Post # 5:

    The Future of BlackBerry is RIM.-oldpost.jpg

    I've also wondered about whether the rebranding to BlackBerry was a wise decision. Given their acquisition of QNX and their interest in 'mobile computing', it seems like the rebranding pigeon-holed their business and vision to smartphone manufacturing, when in reality they wanted to (or should have) diversified. It also came at a time when the BlackBerry brand was declining... so, in retrospect, probably not the best idea.
    Last edited by AnimalPak200; 10-05-13 at 12:46 PM.
    Dude_9 likes this.
    10-05-13 12:35 PM
  3. geoffsdad's Avatar
    The length of the OP post has got to break a crackberry record

    Posted via CB10 on my Z10 featuring BBM Channel C0002FE04
    10-05-13 12:42 PM
  4. Uzi's Avatar
    Good writing man!

    Pin:2AF5A1B8 Q10SQN100-3/10.2.1.476
    moody, Anilu7, Kingkracker and 1 others like this.
    10-05-13 12:42 PM
  5. Amar Toraskar's Avatar
    what u described above is right, but how to bring all this in action .This has to be shared with the blackberry share holders or the management.This is what i feel so in order for BB to get going.what u say Mr.wout000.Im saying coz u have done a hard work in describing the efforts BB has to take to be the pioneer.
    moody and neoberry99 like this.
    10-05-13 12:52 PM
  6. anon(1464249)'s Avatar
    I agree with the 'MVNO' idea. I had suggested something similar a few months ago, but mostly as a feature to differentiate BB10 devices from others smartphones.

    CrackBerry Clock Contest: Tell us what YOU think it's time for BlackBerry to do next! Post # 5:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I've also wondered about whether the rebranding to BlackBerry was a wise decision. Given their acquisition of QNX and their interest in 'mobile computing', it seems like the rebranding pigeon-holed their business and vision to smartphone manufacturing, when in reality they wanted to (or should have) diversified. It also came at a time when the BlackBerry brand was declining... so, in retrospect, probably not the best idea.
    The MVNO route is so obvious. It would have had even more merit if they didn't decide to axe BIS on BB10. But they can surely code in support again and have it act as a VOIP switch for all BlackBerry's.

    The rebranding is another thing. Everyone was all happy at the time they did it because there was no more confusion in branding when all they had to do was just create BlackBerry Inc as a subsidiary to achive the same effect. It would have left a profitable RIM when BlackBerry Inc was going down... Of course Heins giving away the company to a new CEO and him being CEO of the umbrella company would have had disastrous effects on his parting bonus

    The length of the OP post has got to break a crackberry record

    Posted via CB10 on my Z10 featuring BBM Channel C0002FE04
    Hardly

    Good writing man!

    Pin:2AF5A1B8 Q10SQN100-3/10.2.1.476
    Thanks. Any thoughts?

    ***Troll Filter***
    No offense but you made 2 posts on this forum just to badmouth BlackBerry... one trip to the ignore list for you.
    Last edited by elite1; 10-05-13 at 02:18 PM. Reason: Removed quote of deleted troll post
    AnimalPak200 and latarnik like this.
    10-05-13 12:56 PM
  7. anon(1464249)'s Avatar
    what u described above is right, but how to bring all this in action .This has to be shared with the blackberry share holders or the management.This is what i feel so in order for BB to get going.what u say Mr.wout000.Im saying coz u have done a hard work in describing the efforts BB has to take to be the pioneer.
    Trust me management knows. I haven't wrote down any groundbreaking ideas, I'm sure someone at some time has pitched these before.
    The reason I'm posting this, is to show that Thorsten isn't CEO material. He has done everything wrong since day one. I'm not saying he did it intentionally, he just wasn't ready to lead a company in decline...
    10-05-13 01:01 PM
  8. IgotsThis's Avatar
    Didn't Balsillie resign when BlackBerry found 250million dollars in accounting errors?

    BBM channels: c00121c99 for some knowledge and c00123fca for some real hip hop
    10-05-13 01:22 PM
  9. robot_ca's Avatar
    Excellent post! Very interesting read. Maybe you should be the CEO...

    Posted via CB10
    moody, camilasmom and Tom Thacker like this.
    10-05-13 01:53 PM
  10. anon(1464249)'s Avatar
    Didn't Balsillie resign when BlackBerry found 250million dollars in accounting errors?

    BBM channels: c00121c99 for some knowledge and c00123fca for some real hip hop
    Jim Balsillie resigned as chairman of the board in 2007 after RIM took a 250 million USD writedown of undervalued stock options granted to executives. Executives gave back 5 million USD. He remained at his post of Co-CEO until 2012. While something fishy did go down, it doesn't take away the genius and knowledge of this man. He played an intrinsic part to the success of the BlackBerry.
    There are fail-saves in place for this sort of financial flaws and they totally worked, so no worries about him cooking the books.

    Excellent post! Very interesting read. Maybe you should be the CEO...
    Posted via CB10
    Be sure to nominate me at the next round of board meetings
    moody likes this.
    10-05-13 02:07 PM
  11. Elite1's Avatar
    No offense but you made 2 posts on this forum just to badmouth BlackBerry... one trip to the ignore list for you.
    It's okay. He won't have any more posts coming.
    10-05-13 02:12 PM
  12. Spencerdl's Avatar
    Is it me or do some members take this whole "smartphone" thing to serious.......Is it really that serious, there is much much more to life...SERIOUSLY
    Elite1, Bsbudd and niceup like this.
    10-05-13 02:19 PM
  13. g33kphr33k's Avatar
    Wout000: that was an epic post and is pretty bang on the money. They need to step back, look about how to piece it together.

    The umbrella would work great, I say that, as we did it with our company a couple of years back. It makes it easy to organise the other companies and trim any fat or part that doesn?t bring in the cash.

    Typed on and then corrected by my Z10. http://geekphreek.com
    Anilu7 likes this.
    10-05-13 02:24 PM
  14. ankush77's Avatar
    yes few things are rightly said,but practical difficulties cannot be negated
    10-05-13 02:34 PM
  15. jpvj's Avatar
    Quite interesting post.
    Licensing OS10 will be very hard as long as BB also is a HW manufactorer. Separating RIM and BB will make sense with regards to this matter.

    My impression is that the company has grown to big too fast and management never was able to keep up. As long as products are popular and people are buying - no problem, but when things gets tougher it will fail.

    The message BB is leaving is "no plan - just meet developers (BB Jam) and release a new device now and then with hardly any marketing backing it up".

    Splitting the company in minor divisions would make them more agile and a new CMO is definitively needed. For a "messaging company" communication is really bad.
    Kobe Barksdale and Mack Gans like this.
    10-05-13 02:38 PM
  16. zocster's Avatar
    Didn't know you can write like that! Great job, and bang on!
    Anilu7 likes this.
    10-05-13 02:39 PM
  17. bobaloo's Avatar
    This is a great read and deserves to be not only featured on the blogs, but also heavily discussed. imagine if your ideas go to the people who mattered.
    10-05-13 02:56 PM
  18. lobbyintx's Avatar
    good post. I made a comment in another forum that BB should have a worldwide data plan that compresses data and sold to subscribers when they travel on a weekly basis. The MVNO plan is even better. maybe they should hire you.
    maddie1128 and Mack Gans like this.
    10-05-13 02:58 PM
  19. tmichaelmorrissey's Avatar
    Quite interesting post.
    Licensing OS10 will be very hard as long as BB also is a HW manufactorer. Separating RIM and BB will make sense with regards to this matter.

    My impression is that the company has grown to big too fast and management never was able to keep up. As long as products are popular and people are buying - no problem, but when things gets tougher it will fail.

    The message BB is leaving is "no plan - just meet developers (BB Jam) and release a new device now and then with hardly any marketing backing it up".

    Splitting the company in minor divisions would make them more agile and a new CMO is definitively needed. For a "messaging company" communication is really bad.
    I can not agree more on the last sentence of your post. Clever!

    Posted via CB10
    10-05-13 03:14 PM
  20. Its Spade's Avatar
    Make this man ceo... or at least an advisor

    Member of Squircle of Trust!
    maddie1128 and iamagod like this.
    10-05-13 03:19 PM
  21. anon(1464249)'s Avatar
    It's okay. He won't have any more posts coming.
    Thank you.

    Is it me or do some members take this whole "smartphone" thing to serious.......Is it really that serious, there is much much more to life...SERIOUSLY
    I'm sorry, are we not on a forum dedicated to this whole 'smartphone' thing? Guess I should have just posted a picture of a kitty.

    Wout000: that was an epic post and is pretty bang on the money. They need to step back, look about how to piece it together.
    The umbrella would work great, I say that, as we did it with our company a couple of years back. It makes it easy to organise the other companies and trim any fat or part that doesn?t bring in the cash.
    Typed on and then corrected by my Z10. Geek Phreek's Geek Shack • Not nerds, definintely not nerdy!
    It's not entirely about the cash, it does have a big part in it as they will burn through pretty much everything they have piled up in the next couple of months but spinning of the 'bad' part to restructure it while safeguarding the core of the business (everything north of the RIM button in the picture) guarantees a valid business model even if the 'bad' part fails.

    yes few things are rightly said,but practical difficulties cannot be negated
    Please elaborate.

    Quite interesting post.
    Licensing OS10 will be very hard as long as BB also is a HW manufacturer. Separating RIM and BB will make sense with regards to this matter.
    My impression is that the company has grown to big too fast and management never was able to keep up. As long as products are popular and people are buying - no problem, but when things gets tougher it will fail.
    The message BB is leaving is "no plan - just meet developers (BB Jam) and release a new device now and then with hardly any marketing backing it up".
    Splitting the company in minor divisions would make them more agile and a new CMO is definitively needed. For a "messaging company" communication is really bad.
    Separating is a necessary evil if they don't want to lose their hold on the valuable patents and other assets. Licensing the OS won't be difficult, hardware manufacturers love competition and diversity. The only difficult thing I see in this licensing route is the App Gap. It's there, whether you want it or not and it can't be ignored. That's why small teams of evangelists need to be deployed. BlackBerry should follow the trends in apps and deploy a team to whatever top 10 apps are popular on a monthly basis to try and persuade the creators to go BB.

    Frank is kind of a mystery. I won't be surprised if he hasn't even attended one board meeting since he got the CMO position.

    Didn't know you can write like that! Great job, and bang on!
    Well zocster, didn't know you ever went out of the hybrid section of this forum
    I try what I can between work breaks and travel and sometimes really long posts pop out...go figure

    This is a great read and deserves to be not only featured on the blogs, but also heavily discussed. imagine if your ideas go to the people who mattered.
    I'm sure my ideas already have been to the top brass but since I don't think anyone but Bidulka is fit for an executive position (let's wait and see what Zipperstein does in the coming months) I don't know if it would matter a whole lot. I'd rather have Jim and Mike back and they'd use some common sense.

    good post. I made a comment in another forum that BB should have a worldwide data plan that compresses data and sold to subscribers when they travel on a weekly basis. The MVNO plan is even better. maybe they should hire you.
    It's ironic that I do corporate crisis management. However I only do European based companies and I have enough of that on my plate as it is right now. Getting the call to work on BlackBerry would mean a commitment of several months at least and it's out of the question since they'll be going private in a matter of weeks, I'm sure Prem has plans...
    iamagod, Elite1 and shellnsean like this.
    10-05-13 03:26 PM
  22. anon(1464249)'s Avatar
    Make this man ceo... or at least an advisor

    Member of Squircle of Trust!
    I would like to be a king if possible. I shall need knights. Knights of the Squircle of Trust. Unite!

    In all seriousness. This is just a personal, maybe biased semi-professional opinion. I don't have all the data so keep that in mind.
    10-05-13 03:29 PM
  23. terminatorx's Avatar
    OP - I haven't logged on in a long time, but I enjoyed reading your post and it inspired me to respond. I totally agree with you about bringing back the former CEOs, especially Mike Lazaridis. While BB10 is a move to the future, the company appears to be losing its identity. I think they should have come out with a beautifully designed and updated Bold qwerty phone first, something like the TK Justice concept. Something that would have visually blown people away. ALSO - it needs to have the trackpad. This was the epitome of RIM from the earliest devices. The send and end keys as well ad the menu and back keys, all of those. You can't tell me they will take so much space that they have to be eliminated.

    The fact that BlackBerry announced all these cuts and the massive loss, goes to show that the name change from RIM to BlackBerry was a waste of time. It didn't do anything. I agree the company should be called RIM, with a division for BlackBerry and then BBM, etc.

    Too many people are talking about how the Q10 is missing features of the 9900/9930, and this is because the QNX team was not working with the BlackBerry 7 (original Java team) according to the recent G&M article where Mike L was against the all touch being the first device released.

    I still own a BB 9900 and it's a great device. The Z10 and Q10, while great phones seem to have sacrificed too much which made BB unique. The track pad and the send/end buttons weren't taking up too much space, and people loved them. If you lose that, then remove BIS push mail, and other things like speed dial then what's next? It's not so much "BlackBerry" anymore. The QNX team designed BB10 from scratch but the priority should have also been to maintain and improve all the existing features, not lose good features and shortcuts in the process.

    RIM needs a killer Bold style phone, and when you take a look at the concept designs like TK Justice compared to the Q10, the Q10 isn't going to put a gleam in peoples eyes the same way. The same goes for the Z10, it doesn't make people drool enough. This and the fact the phones are way too overpriced, is why they are not selling.

    For now, I think BlackBerry should price both the Z10 and Q10 at 300 and 350 respectively, and you will see way more people buying them. The Z30 should be no more than 450 off contract. BlackBerry needs to compete aggressively on price at this point, as well as highlighting on the things that made BlackBerry handsets so popular in the first place (keyboard, trackpad).

    Someone made an excellent point about how the Torch was not marketed well enough. It was an excellent phone which was all touch, and has a slide out keyboard. Not enough people knew about this phone. They need to make an updated model like this, or this is what the Z10 should have been (slider).

    At this point the company is not dead, but it's image and operations are so wrecked that you may as well just bring back Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. They should not have left in the first place, the company should have just gone private to begin with.
    Geeoff, jza2349, Anilu7 and 5 others like this.
    10-05-13 04:09 PM
  24. Geeoff's Avatar
    I like the "out of the box" thinking. Current management is just doing the basics, but major changes are required!

    It does seem like Jim B. was very good for RIM. However, Mike L. is a techy and needs to stay in a techy role. Mike is a genius at technical stuff, but not at management.

    I really, really hope that there are some major personnel changes. Thor once said that the Frank Boublen did a great job getting them to focus on one key message. This is pretty basic marketing stuff folks!! Really, they need all-round better marketing, not necessarily more of it, but better quality.
    10-05-13 04:51 PM
  25. TioPepe78's Avatar
    Great post!!! I think every point you made makes sense, the only think I have to ask is do you think that Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie are willing to take the fight again? Because I can see what you mean bringing them back, sometimes founders lose their way and have to step out, but after a while of being away they may return with new perspective, the big question is would they come back?
    10-05-13 04:52 PM
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