[Corbu]

BlackBerry Launches New Cybersecurity Services to Safeguard People, Privacy and Assets

[Corbu]

https://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/...re-to-software
'People wanted me to change our name' - BlackBerry CEO on its dramatic switch from hardware to software

BlackBerry CEO John Chen was urged to change the vendor's name as it moved from its heritage hardware model to focus solely on software, he revealed today at an event in London.

BlackBerry has been going through a period of transition over the last four years as it divorced its hardware heritage, culminating in an announcement last year that it would cease making its own devices and focus on software and security.

Speaking at BlackBerry's fourth security conference in London - the first the vendor has held outside the US - Chen said that this shift in strategy has started to gain traction in the market.

"A year ago everyone wanted to talk about the next keyboard phones," he said. "They wanted to talk about the phones, the speed, the web browsing capability and all these sorts of things which was great - we're very proud of our heritage.

"We continue to license it to other people who want to build phones, but we really need to get out of the phone business and leave the hardware business, and move onto the software side of the equation.

"The narrative has changed. For BlackBerry to get back on a positive track… it's very important for [these people] to start talking about the value-add that we provide. I love talking about our heritage, but that only goes so far."

BlackBerry now focuses predominantly on software and provides solutions around security, communications and device management.

The vendor's name will still appear on handsets through licensing deals with hardware firms.

The BlackBerry Motion will ship in the UK early next month and is manufactured by Chinese giant TCL. Chen said he expects the vendor's hardware revenue to be completely erased next year, with income coming only in the form of royalties paid for its branding.

The move away from hardware, he added, led people to question why he didn't change the company's name to better reflect the shift in focus.

"Virtually all the analysts, rightfully so, had written things that were negative," he said. "But after three and a half years we really have turned around the perception and the understanding of our company.

"Our strategy, the execution and our value-add to the industry of being the number one, leading cybersecurity software company is now being recognised.

"People have by the way asked me to change name, from BlackBerry to something else," he said. "People have asked me to do more advertising [as well], but the thing is our consistency, and our team going out there day after day and getting our message out there, is starting to pay off."

More partners

The move away from hardware to software has led to a shift in BlackBerry's go-to-market, with more channel partners needed to deploy the solutions to end users.

The firm has seen its new partner intake rise 75 per cent this year compared with 2016.

Chen said that BlackBerry has built out its direct sales teams for highly regulated markets such as financial and government, but that other verticals are served predominately by partners.

"As we go on to pivot from being a hardware and handset company into a software, security and IoT company, one of the major shifts is how we get to the market," he said.

"We pick a very highly selected group of verticals… and we built our go-to-market strategy around that with a direct sales force and partnering.

"In the other parts of the market beyond these verticals, which we call highly regulated, we decided to go with partners and this is why things are going very well. We have to expand our channel partnerships and we've been really focused on that."

Chen also hinted that BlackBerry could turn to acquisitions to help boost its go-to-market and presence in the channel.

He said that BlackBerry is actively looking to ultilise the $2.5bn (£1.9bn) cash it has in the bank, saying the two primary areas of focus will be around enhancing the security offering and channel strategy.

"One of the areas is in how we enhance security even more," he said. "We've spoken about machine learning, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence - these are all things we are working on… it would be helpful for us to boost that.

"We will continue to maintain that we have the technology, the know-how and the products [but] we need more channels, so anywhere that could help us there, that's a possibility."

[_dimi_]

What a crazy situation this is... nobody seems to understand what's driving this market. I've read Morgan's last message a few times, and decided to sell off part of my position. I feel like BB could take a little longer to get its momentum back than the market is willing to give before we see a small correction. When has BB (under no news) outperformed the market? Anyway, I don't expect it to be much of a correction, since everybody is talking about the all-time highs,... but nobody seems to be cheering about it?!

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

OT:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/delphi-...860946?tesla=y
Delphi to Buy Self-Driving Car Tech Startup for $450 Million

[Corbu]

Short interest up 2.1M as of 10/13, now at 46.3M

Props to Z

[zlatno]

Morgan, I have some cash that I'm looking to invest. Out of HALO, PSDV & SPHS, which one would you buy hoping for a short period boost?
I understand that no one knows what will happen in the future and I would never hold you accountable if by chance the pick doesn't turn out well. I'm looking at these funds as a gamble (mostly because I won the cash at the poker tables).
Thanks in advance!

[Corbu]

JC on BBCBizLive

morganplus8 and rarsen like this.

[world traveler and former ceo]

Short interest up 2.1M as of 10/13, now at 46.3M

Props to Z

Wow.... so much for flushing out the shorts.... Chen still has some work to do....

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasb.../#127c3f956977
BlackBerry CEO: We'll Try To Break Our Own Encryption If Feds Demand It

BlackBerry happy with Indonesian market - Business - The Jakarta Post

[morganplus8]

Morgan, I have some cash that I'm looking to invest. Out of HALO, PSDV & SPHS, which one would you buy hoping for a short period boost?
I understand that no one knows what will happen in the future and I would never hold you accountable if by chance the pick doesn't turn out well. I'm looking at these funds as a gamble (mostly because I won the cash at the poker tables).
Thanks in advance!

The clearest choice is PSDV. They have a Q report on the 7th of next month and they are deep into major events over the next 3 months. I normally don't give SA the time of day but here is a good summary of their near future:

https://seekingalpha.com/article/411...ig-news-coming

Not only that, the stock is technically ready for a big move. I have bought blocks of it for 2 weeks now and we are closing in on owning 2% of the company. Don't buy it because I do, I don't know how much of the news will be positive, no one does. I think they will have some great success now that they have a more focused CEO. I researched the heck out of them before sinking this much money into them.

I love HALO but my range was $ 18 - $ 20 and they have arrived there now, not much upside at current levels but a great investment as they continue to grow the business.

As for SPHS, their news will come starting in late January and it is a stock to own for sure. We hold a very large block in this one too and will not sell it until it is above $ 10.00/shr. There you have it, all stocks are risky, many don't make any sense like MOBL. I love BlackBerry but I have pulled back a bit because it's TA is not clear. It has support at its 20-EMA which is $ 10.90/shr and more support at $ 10.50/shr which happens to be where I think it is great value. As CJ pointed out though, it doesn't have any strong levels of support at this time due to that major run-up in the price post their last Q. And so the choice for me today is PSDV, followed by SPHS anywhere near $ 2.10/shr. HALO is a real investment that you can sleep nights with and BB is one to buy on dips or sell naked puts on.

Best of luck and know that I'm making large bets on these and not pumping them because I own a few shares.

A special thanks to Corbu for keeping us informed on BB.

[_dimi_]

Lol, Morgan I love your (sort of) disclaimer! If only the entire investment community turned their words into actions like you do, they could all say that!

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

BlackBerry's bet on driverless cars - BBC News

[W Hoa]

From RBC:

BlackBerry Limited
Ovum validates BlackBerry’s EMM leadership,
acknowledges a competitive market
Impact:
Neutral.

First impression

• Conference call with Ovum. We hosted a call on Wednesday, October
25 with Adam Holtby, an Analyst at Ovum. The call focused on Ovum’s
view of the Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) market, including
the market opportunity for EMM, BlackBerry’s differentiation and
competitive advantages, and trends among competitors. Key takeaways
include:

• EMM spending to rise 22% compounded to $9.5B in 2021. Ovum
expects the EMM market to rise from $4B in 2016 to $9.5B in 2021,
which represents 22% compounded per annum growth. Demand for
EMM is shifting away from basic Mobile Device Management (MDM)
to mobile content management and mobile application development.
Additionally, Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) brings together
traditional PC management and mobile device management into a
single platform and is a catalyst for future demand.

• Basic Mobile Device Management (MDM) has commoditized. Ovum
acknowledged that Mobile Device Management (MDM) functionality
has commoditized, as multiple vendors offer similar features. For
example, Ovum indicated that there is limited differentiation among
leading EMM solutions. However, Ovum believes that the market is still
early and evolving; the value proposition of the broader end-to-end
functionality of EMM and UEM remains high.

• BlackBerry is among the leading vendors. In its comprehensive
evaluation of 220+ features of EMM platforms, Ovum ranks BlackBerry
as one of the leading EMM vendors. Among the vendors, Ovum receives
the most client inquires for VMware (AirWatch), MobileIron, IBM and
BlackBerry. BlackBerry is regaining interest with customers, now that it
has a more capable multi-OS offering following the release of its UEM
solution in January 2017 and the Good Technology acquisition in 2015.
BlackBerry’s biggest challenge is marketing, in that client awareness for
its multi-OS capabilities still remains low.

• Cybersecurity reputation differentiates BlackBerry. BlackBerry’s
biggest differentiator, particularly with regulated customers, is the
company’s cybersecurity reputation. Ovum indicated that BlackBerry
has the broadest security features of the EMM vendors it reviewed,
along with the highest number of government certifications.
Cybersecurity features heavily in BlackBerry’s marketing and product
focus. For example, BlackBerry recently announced new cybersecurity
consulting services to help companies manage GDPR (general data
protection regulations) in Europe.

https://www.rbcinsight.com/WM/share/...N4GR75hg==&a=a

[smithm565]

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2...an-market.html

Posted via CB10

[zlatno]

The clearest choice is PSDV. They have a Q report on the 7th of next month and they are deep into major events over the next 3 months. I normally don't give SA the time of day but here is a good summary of their near future:

https://seekingalpha.com/article/411...ig-news-coming

Not only that, the stock is technically ready for a big move. I have bought blocks of it for 2 weeks now and we are closing in on owning 2% of the company. Don't buy it because I do, I don't know how much of the news will be positive, no one does. I think they will have some great success now that they have a more focused CEO. I researched the heck out of them before sinking this much money into them.

I love HALO but my range was $ 18 - $ 20 and they have arrived there now, not much upside at current levels but a great investment as they continue to grow the business.

As for SPHS, their news will come starting in late January and it is a stock to own for sure. We hold a very large block in this one too and will not sell it until it is above $ 10.00/shr. There you have it, all stocks are risky, many don't make any sense like MOBL. I love BlackBerry but I have pulled back a bit because it's TA is not clear. It has support at its 20-EMA which is $ 10.90/shr and more support at $ 10.50/shr which happens to be where I think it is great value. As CJ pointed out though, it doesn't have any strong levels of support at this time due to that major run-up in the price post their last Q. And so the choice for me today is PSDV, followed by SPHS anywhere near $ 2.10/shr. HALO is a real investment that you can sleep nights with and BB is one to buy on dips or sell naked puts on.

Best of luck and know that I'm making large bets on these and not pumping them because I own a few shares.

A special thanks to Corbu for keeping us informed on BB.

Thanks for the input. Got in yesterday at USD$1.20.
I usually try to add to my Blackberry holdings, but I have a feeling I will be able to get in again at a lower price. Hopefully PSDV jumps a bit for a quick profit.

[Corbu]

OT: Renovo
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332499
Renovo Develops Robocar-Cloud OS
Bridging gaps in the cloud eco-system for fleets of AVs

BTW, I have very little info on the company itself but Renovo seems to have fewer than 50 employees. Could be wrong, though.

[Corbu]

https://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/...-blackberry-vp
'We're 65 per cent channel and it's not enough': BlackBerry channel VP
BlackBerry partner boss Richard McLeod talks CRN through the vendor's channel overhaul

"If you turn back the clock five years, most of what BlackBerry did was through carriers because they are the guys who sold the handset. Our software went through the handset, so almost everything was direct through them. Now it's almost a complete flip."

These are the words of BlackBerry channel boss Richard McLeod who, speaking to CRN, summed up an entire overhaul of a multibillion-dollar company in under 50 words.

BlackBerry embarked on a turnaround project five years ago, after the once-dominant smartphone player lost ground to Apple and Google.

A revival over recent years has seen BlackBerry abandon its hardware roots and focus solely on its software, continuing in the communications space but also putting more emphasis on a broader security offering.

This shift triggered an equally extensive shift in BlackBerry's channel operations.

Five years ago BlackBerry didn't have much of a channel in the traditional sense, working predominantly through the network carriers which sold its mobile phones.

Channel vice president McLeod (pictured) said this has now changed, with just 25 per cent of BlackBerry's channel business going through carriers and 75 per cent going through value-added partners.

Overall, 65 per cent of its volume now travels through the channel - an amount which "is not big enough," he added.But the shift in BlackBerry's own focus has led to a shift in what it requires from partners.

"We had to reinvent the channel, and bring new partners into the fold," McLeod said.

"Partners were saying 'let's manage devices for you'. Where we want to be, and where we're making progress towards, is business transformation consulting, and then integrating and supporting those solutions.

"Instead of resellers we're developing solution providers. Yes, we have some people that just sell products, but our game is to move them up to solutions providers."

Key to BlackBerry's new-found focus is the decoupling of its software from its hardware. Previously, McLeod explained, the view of BlackBerry was that "the magic" was all in the hardware and therefore partners were required to shift the handsets.

Now that the software stands alone, BlackBerry has become a much more complex and solution-led sale, with customers needing the expertise of partners to implement and manage its range of products.

"Everyone thought all the magic was in that BlackBerry phone," he said. "There was some magic there but it was mostly the software embedded in that phone, and then it was the secure communication back to the BlackBerry cloud."

Where BlackBerry's software was previously available only on BlackBerry's devices, now it can be installed across all devices and operating systems, opening up a far greater range of target customers.

To help address these opportunities, BlackBerry launched its first channel programme last year and currently has around 1,700 partners worldwide.

Two hundred of these partners are in the UK, including two top-tier Platinum partners and four second-tier Gold partners.

While the Platinum partners are carriers - O2 and Vodafone - traditional channel players have become more important to the vendor.

Global players such as CDW, Insight and Dimension Data are among the key partners, but McLeod said that smaller regional players are coming more into the fold as the focus shifts away from volume-centred hardware sales to value-focused software.

"There are a number of partners that are playing in our space in the second and third tier and what's interesting is when we move into this application space it's less about size and more about the value they're delivering, which is a key component of our partner programme structure," he said.

"Nothing is volume based, everything is value based and that's a key foundation of the programme we built. We're seeing both large and small partners, as well as global systems integrators - like the Accentures - that are keenly interested in our solution.

"We've virtually doubled the size of channel team globally and added technical support dedicated to the channel."

Despite the new-found love of the channel, BlackBerry will retain an element of direct sales in highly regulated sectors such as government and finance, but McLeod said that even some of these sectors are more channel focused than one might think - claiming that 90 per cent of BlackBerry's deals with the US government goes through partners.

BlackBerry has also launched a dedicated managed hosting specialisation in its partner programme, meaning managed hosting providers and cloud service providers can now host BlackBerry in their own datacentres, helping meet any data residency requirements that customers may have.

The changes have created a sense of anticipation among BlackBerry's partner community, according to the director of £3m BlackBerry partner Appurity Steve Whiter.

"Our heritage is BlackBerry and the mobile space," he said. "We've stuck with it when other people disregarded it and there is certainly a buzz around now. There are lots of new partners and the old ones that stayed, but people are wanting to start reselling BlackBerry again."

Whiter said that the rapid expansion of BlackBerry's product portfolio over the last few years has given it an edge over vendors that offer only one or two products.

He added that a key opportunity for partners over the next few months will be a burgeoning partnership with Microsoft and its cloud.

"Over the last two or three years they've added to the portfolio, enhanced what they already had and it's above everything in the market in the moment," he said. "Other vendors have one or two products; these guys have the full security suite.

"It's a partnership that we're very much going to be involved in because everyone will be [moving to the] cloud."

[morganplus8]

Thanks for the input. Got in yesterday at USD$1.20.
I usually try to add to my Blackberry holdings, but I have a feeling I will be able to get in again at a lower price. Hopefully PSDV jumps a bit for a quick profit.

I wish you luck, there is plenty of news coming in the weeks ahead starting with their Q report. Today, we have the IBB Index getting crushed, it is now oversold and beaten up. Our fav three are doing well though with HALO up on the day and it has some profits built into it for many. The strange thing about PSDV is the recent set of closes (7), they all occur at exactly $ 1.20/shr and today is the first day we are seeing lighter volume so today's close should be interesting. I've paused for now but I'm a buyer again shortly, I just want to see how it trades without me in there.

As for BB, it is trending sideways with some great articles posted by Corbu of course. I really like how the stock is trading as long as it can find support above $ 10.50/shr I'm very happy with it while awaiting news.

Now that the warm weather is behind us I'm spending more time looking at the market, and so far, we are remarkably holding up here with some solid earnings to back this rally. It is possible that we could continue to rally like this into the end of the year as we are cruising past tax loss season without anyone even acknowledging it at all. That's a first for me.

PS. There is one thing that I forgot to mention, if you are into TA, the Bollinger Bands for PSDV are the tightest range I have ever seen for a stock, we literally are able to touch the top and bottom of the range in the same day and not influence the gap at all. Something is about to happen soon.

[morganplus8]

https://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/...-blackberry-vp


The changes have created a sense of anticipation among BlackBerry's partner community, according to the director of £3m BlackBerry partner Appurity Steve Whiter.

"Our heritage is BlackBerry and the mobile space," he said. "We've stuck with it when other people disregarded it and there is certainly a buzz around now. There are lots of new partners and the old ones that stayed, but people are wanting to start reselling BlackBerry again."

Whiter said that the rapid expansion of BlackBerry's product portfolio over the last few years has given it an edge over vendors that offer only one or two products.

He added that a key opportunity for partners over the next few months will be a burgeoning partnership with Microsoft and its cloud.

"Over the last two or three years they've added to the portfolio, enhanced what they already had and it's above everything in the market in the moment," he said. "Other vendors have one or two products; these guys have the full security suite.

"It's a partnership that we're very much going to be involved in because everyone will be [moving to the] cloud."

I have read this portion many times, this is some powerful testimony for sure. You can literally see MOBL heading for deep waters without a paddle, just continue doing what they do best and MOBL will disappear for good. Excellent vindication for Chen in these statements.

[Corbu]

I agree, Morgan.

And I see some links with the RBC/Ovum info W Hoa posted yesterday.

BTW, I am told by a friend of this thread that it is worth listening to that call:
Replay available until Nov. 1. Replay #: (416) 626-4100 or (800) 558-5253; Passcode: 21859566

I have the feeling that JC is starting to like where the company is now, as he is about to embark on his fifth year. With any luck at all - and lots of good execution and improvements that are still needed - we should be able to reap the rewards of our patience, one of these days.

Thanks for hanging around and always be willing to help, Morgan.

[Corbu]

Purely anecdotal but we are seing more and more of such "positive" articles , lately...

BlackBerry Cyber Security Services Announced At Conference

https://investorplace.com/2017/10/bl.../#.WfH4CluPJhE

https://www.fool.ca/2017/10/26/a-mas...within-a-year/

[Andy_bb_king]

I have read this portion many times, this is some powerful testimony for sure. You can literally see MOBL heading for deep waters without a paddle, just continue doing what they do best and MOBL will disappear for good. Excellent vindication for Chen in these statements.

Morgan,

Do you see a cup and handle pattern being developed here? Really hoping to see SP to break out above from here. Speaking Bollinger Band, it has reached to the lower limit here.

[W Hoa]

Purely anecdotal but we are seing more and more of such "positive" articles , lately...

BlackBerry Cyber Security Services Announced At Conference

Nice tag line from that article:

"BlackBerry is aiming to be the organization that is able to bridge the gap between confusion and understanding."

[_dimi_]

Morgan,

Do you see a cup and handle pattern being developed here? Really hoping to see SP to break out above from here. Speaking Bollinger Band, it has reached to the lower limit here.

Hi Andy! Sorry to interfere, but what stock are you looking at? Thanks

Posted via CB10

[Andy_bb_king]

Hi Andy! Sorry to interfere, but what stock are you looking at? Thanks

Posted via CB10

Hi Dimi,

BB it is.