incompetence doesn't seem to impress Canadians
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- You win some you lose some! Losing huge contracts in the business world is common place! It's just you hear about it more with large Corp companies!08-04-17 01:25 PMLike 0
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- 08-04-17 04:27 PMLike 0
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Sent from my BBB100-1 using CB Forums mobile app08-04-17 04:45 PMLike 0 - Not being Canadian, I never heard of shared services before. I can only assume the inefficiency level of that organization is nothing compared to the inefficiency of such organizations of equivalent nature in the USA or other countries. Government is such a disappointment.08-04-17 04:54 PMLike 0
- Lol at the responses here.
I have been saying that Samsung seem to have taken BB head on in Security, it was bound to happen I guess.
The Globe and Mail:
Ottawa opens door to Samsung smartphones, marking an end to BlackBerry’s reign
July 30, 2017
Over the next 18 months, the federal government’s IT department will begin offering alternative devices to employees, winding down BlackBerry’s long-held dominance in providing secure devices in the nation’s capital.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
In Ottawa's parks, stadiums and streets, it's easy to spot federal government employees: They're the ones carrying BlackBerrys.
But picking bureaucrats out of the crowd is about to become more difficult.
Over the next 18 months, the federal government's sprawling IT department, Shared Services Canada, will begin offering alternative devices in what it calls "a new approach to mobile service to better serve its clients, use new technology and adapt to changes in the marketplace."
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will be the first vendor of an Android-based smartphone approved for federal employees, winding down BlackBerry Ltd.'s long-held dominance in providing secure devices in the nation's capital.
It wasn't national pride that made BlackBerry ubiquitous in Ottawa. The Waterloo, Ont.-based company was always far ahead of competitors in devices and software that were hardened against security breaches. But now, Samsung finally has devices that match the gold standard set BlackBerry's past hardware efforts.
It took two years for Samsung to stickhandle through Shared Service's requirements. The company had to prove that, like BlackBerry, it could pass several military-grade certifications required by agencies such as the spymasters at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE).
"It's been a long road," said Paul Edwards, Samsung Canada's vice-president of enterprise mobility.
The move to open Ottawa's doors to foreign competitors highlights the inevitable end of an era for BlackBerry, which has been shifting away from the handset business and outsourced its manufacturing to third parties in the previous fiscal year.
The last BB10 device that met Ottawa's highest security standards – the ones Samsung is only now able to pass – was the budget-friendly touchscreen Leap in 2015; the last keyboard version to meet this mark was the Classic, which launched in late 2014. Neither device is still in production.
The Globe and Mail was unable to reach a BlackBerry spokesperson for comment.
While BlackBerry has been the go-to device for federal employees who require secure e-mail access, there are also a limited number of Android phones and iPhones in government service that will be unaffected by Samsung's new access; for example, tweets from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's official Twitter account are often posted from an iPhone.
There are approximately 250,000 phones deployed to federal workers: a mix of BlackBerry smartphones designed with 2013's BB10 operating system, some older generation BlackBerry 7 phones and a variety of more simple talk-and-text devices.
For Samsung, it's not the size of the potential contract that's important – it sold 79 million devices in the first quarter of 2017 – but rather the reputational boost for its Samsung Knox security software. The company said Canada will be 30th government that has adopted Samsung Knox for its secure environments. The first new phones available will be Samsung's two bestsellers – the flagship Galaxy S8 and S7, both touchscreen devices.
"We have keyboard accessories, for older guys like me – over 45 – that are preconditioned to the keyboard," said Paul Brannen, Samsung Canada's chief operating officer. Mr. Brannen said the company has heard the frustration of workers who carry two devices so they can receive government e-mail and also use modern social-media apps and other software not available on aging BlackBerry phones.
Still, Ottawa's BlackBerrys won't disappear overnight – even if some workers tired of their two-year-old (or older) devices might wish it were so.
"SSC will continue to support BlackBerry devices, as well as start to offer a range of other smartphone options," Adam Blondin, director of public affairs with SSC, said in a statement. "Customer departments will be able to choose the mobile device that best fits the needs of each employee, based on device functionality and cost, and will be responsible for purchasing these devices via SSC."
BlackBerry's BES e-mail servers and mobile-device management tools will be retained as the back-end infrastructure servicing all the new Samsung devices.
While BlackBerry no longer manufactures phones, new Android-based BlackBerry devices are still being built through licensing partnerships with groups such as China's TCL, which recently released the BlackBerry KeyOne.
"Other devices that meet Government of Canada Security Standards will be considered for use," Mr. Blondin said, leaving the door open to Android-backed BlackBerrys making a return to Ottawa's halls of power. That said, BlackBerry confirmed that the software security on its Android-backed phones does not currently match the standard of its final update to BB10.3.3.
While 43 departments and agencies will eventually gain access to Samsung's phones, the initial roll out will target such medium-sized agencies as Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, Infrastructure Canada and Public Safety Canada.
Shared Services will also be rolling the devices out to its own IT professionals in the first wave. Mr. Blondin said users who want to retain a BlackBerry should be able to do so until Shared Services runs out of usable devices in its inventory.
Ouch.08-04-17 05:00 PMLike 0 -
- (1) spot using BB as successful business men, cool dude in early days were proud bunch that average joe want to imitate. Spot BB in hand as Gov employee were never a good sight, especially nowadays, either in US or Canada. In addition, droid, swift, window are still taught at university level for computer science course if not at high school, BB software is not... you eventually depleted your talent pool supply for next gen. when those familiar with window, droid, swift become IT support, if not CTO, you start to see the tide turn.. (part of reason AI still not widely implemented... Gov agency hardly try new gig, even AI currently is much mature to ID some of the tasks better than human intellegence. AI got some grow up pain to endure, BB got some aging issues, without follow on support... Chen should have vision to see its coming - he was with SAP if I am not mistaken... hopefully, what ever BES he was still in vision to support all platform, without BB base, he still got legs to stand on...08-05-17 07:21 AMLike 0
- So, as Bla1ze has already said, Seeking Alpha is a headline clickbait trap far more than it is a credible news source. It is amateur bloggers getting paid on commission of clicks.
And here is BlackBerry's side of the story (and others):
http://blogs.blackberry.com/2017/08/...s-that-clicks/
Also, interesting is Samsung's side of the story which, if you have been following the company long enough, you would know that their "Knox" devices are actually developed through a partnership with BlackBerry.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2017/08/01/s...rnment-market/
I would be very interested if anyone had any information on how this 'partnership' actually works. Was this a one time contract that they had with BlackBerry to help them develop it or is it a continued licensing agreement they share?
Either way, BlackBerry isn't out of government services at all, they are out of hardware. Which is *very* old news at this point.08-05-17 08:04 AMLike 0 - 08-05-17 09:21 AMLike 0
- Incompetence is failure to be demonstrably competent. In a group or organizational sense, it falls to the management. Deficient leadership filters down...08-05-17 09:58 AMLike 0
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- Also, interesting is Samsung's side of the story which, if you have been following the company long enough, you would know that their "Knox" devices are actually developed through a partnership with BlackBerry.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2017/08/01/s...rnment-market/Bbnivende likes this.08-05-17 10:53 AMLike 1 - Well, thanks Troy. That's why I asked if anyone knew more about it. I still don't see it as a bad thing, even if Knox doesn't directly pay anything to BlackBerry, the fact that they wanted to ensure it worked with BES still leaves BlackBerry with leverage of their software.08-05-17 12:41 PMLike 0
- Quite a number of people post complaints on CB without working for shared services or any government agency. Apparently Blackberry devices are not performing with or without security requirements for some.
Sent from my BBB100-1 using CB Forums mobile app08-05-17 02:03 PMLike 0 - Lol at the responses here.
Yep, The Globe and Mail have an article about this, that can be read thoroughly when using Reading Mode.
I have been saying that Samsung seem to have taken BB head on in Security, it was bound to happen I guess.
The Globe and Mail:
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/rep...beandmail.com&
Ouch.08-05-17 02:16 PMLike 0 - 08-05-17 02:28 PMLike 0
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