If John Chen is worried about Apple's recently announced partnership
with IBM, it doesn't show.
As BlackBerry's Chief Executive Officer digs deep on his security
agenda, it's clear he has no intention of changing the company's
already-in-motion plans to flesh out its roadmap.
Speaking to media, analysts and customers at the BlackBerry Security
Summit in New York on Tuesday, BlackBerry's CEO shrugged off the deal
that will see Apple and IBM collaborate on developing 100
business-oriented apps for iOS devices, and IBM's salesforce selling
integrated Apple mobile solutions to enterprise customers.
Yahoo Newsreports that BlackBerry's security agenda, which is rooted
in the company's DNA and has been a central theme of its current
restructuring, was already well underway before the Cupertino,
California and Armonk, New York-based companies got together.
Chen said nothing has changed, and BlackBerry's roadmap remains
focused on preparing enterprise customers - especially those in
regulated industries like government, health care and financial
services - for fast-evolving security-related challenges. To
underscore the message, BlackBerry announced it had acquired
Secusmart, a German software company that specialises in securing
voice and data.
Dr. Hans-Christoph Quelle, Secusmart's Founder and CEO, said
Secusmart's technology is already being used by governments around the
world to facilitate secure voice communications. The BlackBerry deal
opens up more opportunities to develop secure smartphone messaging
solutions.
"We bring this technology, and BlackBerry brings this enormous power
of a true global player," he said. "It's a perfect partnership."
BlackBerry's chief security driver is the rise of the Internet of
Things, where ordinary, offline devices like appliances, clothing and
urban infrastructure increasingly sprout processors, sensors and
networking capabilities.
"We are preparing ourselves for the whole concept of the Internet of
Things," Chen said. "Our whole focus is on scalability and security.
It's the one thing that will differentiate us in the future."
The company's QNX technology, which underpins the BlackBerry 10 mobile
operating system, is central to managing the coming explosion in
demand for effective security technology, tools and processes.
"We are going to push QNX even further into the connected home, the
connected factory, the connected everything," said Chen. "If you look
at it, it's how devices talk securely to each other."
They'll need to. BlackBerry's President of Global Enterprise Services,
John Sims, says companies that fail to figure IoT out will pay a heavy
price.
"This is a board-level risk governance issue, not an IT department
issue," he said. "This can destroy companies for decades if they get
it wrong. If you think BYOD is difficult, let me tell you, the
Internet of Things is BYOD on steroids. There's a tsunami of risk
coming at these organizations, and if you don't solve it now, you will
be lost at sea."
As BlackBerry pivots back to its enterprise roots, Chen says his
company's culture of security is already differentiating it in the
minds of corporate customers who have always prioritized secure
solutions.
Charles Eagan, BlackBerry's VP of Software Foundation Technologies,
says companies typically underestimate how critical security has
become to their respective futures.
"Security is a lot like oxygen," Egan said.
"You don't notice it until it's missing, and when it's missing it's
all you can think about."
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