BlackBerry is benefiting from BYOD…

Hitesh Shah,
Director, Channel Sales,
BlackBerry India

BlackBerry remains a mobile device management leader with global enterprise customer base exceeding 80,000. It has exclusive retail stores for the enterprise customers. In India, BlackBerry already has over 2,000 BES customers. So, it has a strong base to build on. BlackBerry’s focus remains on providing channel partners with enhanced aids to demonstrate the power of BES10 and focus on growing the customer base in India. Hitesh Shah, Director, Channel Sales, BlackBerry India, speaks more about it to VARINDIA in an exclusive interaction. Edited excerpts…

BYOD contributes to close-to 95% of smartphone deployment in Enterprise purchase. Is BB getting benefited with BYOD? If yes, how and how much?

Yes, BlackBerry is definitely benefiting from BYOD. Our BES10 offering is aimed at exactly this. We currently service about 90 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies and 75 per cent of ET 500 companies in India. Our worldwide implementations have increased from 12,000 in May 2013 to 25,000 in September 2013 and there have been over 1,000 implementations of BES10 in India since the launch less than a year ago. Also, according to the J Gold report that was commissioned recently, 60 per cent of the global enterprises are currently considering an MDM solution. There is a need for continued efforts and investments to create a scalable, secure and manageable mobility infrastructure to support BYOD, and capitalize on the merits of this pervasive and growing trend.

When it comes to enterprise business, what is your go-to-market strategy? How do you visualize the role of channel business for BlackBerry?

As you may already know, with the introduction of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) early in 2013, we have opened up this platform to iOS and Android operating systems as well. This has effected a significant change in how we reach out to enterprise customers who were earlier restricted to BlackBerry devices. As BYOD has become the norm, our channel partners are able to go to enterprise customers with a more compelling proposition that allows them to convert iOS and Android users into BlackBerry customers as well. 

Recently, we have also launched two enterprise solution centres in India – Mumbai and Gurgaon – and we will soon launch the cloud version of the BES10 offering in the country as well. As a result, our focus on the SME segment has also grown tremendously. 

What kind of partnerships and alliances do you have in place? Can you share some key highlights of the results of those tie-ups and the number of enterprise customers the company bagged?

BlackBerry works with Ingram Micro as its primary distributor for the enterprise segment. We work closely with them to train and sell the BES offering. Additionally, we have partnerships with the top nine telecom service providers in India who also help us reach out to enterprise customers. This strategy has worked very well for us over the years and continues to bear fruit – our success with BES10 in India is a testament to that. 

The BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) has seen more than 1,000 installations in India which is significant, considering that we have only launched it last year. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) and BlackBerry 10 smartphones, have been the first in the market to receive NATO certification, and have set a benchmark in the industry through our mobile device management, mobile application management, and security features. Some of our key Enterprise customers include Essar Group, Financial Technologies, Indiabulls Delhi and Havells.

How was the year 2013 for BlackBerry and what are your plans for the year 2014?

2013 was a challenging year for BlackBerry. However, we are picking up cues from the past and gearing up for what we see as a very promising and positive future especially with the BlackBerry 10 platform and what it offers to both consumers and enterprise customers. Our enterprise success story is our legacy and we have carried that forward with the BB 10 as well. 

We will soon launch a new multi-platform cloud enterprise mobility management solution in India to enable businesses to easily secure and manage corporate and personal devices. 

satinder@varindia.com