BlackBerry is among some of the most well-established names in the world of communication and smartphone technology. The company has been coming out with a large number of devices over they years. Their smartphones were smart before smartphones were invented! The company was the first preference of anyone of significant importance owing to their highly secure functioning. In a bold statement from the company, it has now been announced that they are no longer going to come out with any new smartphones. From now on their primary focus is on the software business.
Following this announcement, the shares of the company rose. Revenue in the quarter or the company was $352 million, missing estimates of $390 million. BlackBerry has also analyzed their software business. It stood tall at $156 Million, which has doubled up from the same quarter last year. However, this year’s previous quarter was at $166 Million. Nevertheless, software is now a major priority for BlackBerry. Many changes are expected to come in the weeks to follow.
“Our new Mobility Solutions strategy is showing signs of momentum, including our first major device software licensing agreement with a telecom joint venture in Indonesia,” CEO John Chen said in a statement. “Under this strategy, we are focusing on software development, including security and applications. The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners. This allows us to reduce capital requirements and enhance return on invested capital.”
BlackBerry had already said during their past quarter results that if the next quarter results don’t match their estimates, the company might take some drastic measures. There were many expectations that the company would move towards the software business, but none of them were that of them shutting down their hardware business completely. We would indeed miss the BlackBerry smartphones!
