In 1999 RIM released the first Blackberry and overnight this new type of smart phone became a hit. They quickly got the nickname “crackberry” as people were now responding to emails at all hours of the day and night. However, over the last couple years RIM has struggled to execute and adapt to the changing smart phone market. The iPhone just recently celebrated its five year anniversary. It was also in 2007 that Google announced their Android operating system. By the first quarter of this year Android has captured 59% of the world smart phone market.
Sales at RIM have been declining for a couple years now due to outdated capabilities. In the last quarter RIM announced a $518 million loss which has created doubts amount analysts about RIMs future. Sales of smart phones have decreased significantly from 11.2 million units in the first quarter last year to 7.8 million units in the first quarter this year. The biggest change is in product mix with RIM selling more lower-priced phones than in the past and also paying incentives to carriers for selling their product.
RIM has pegged its turnaround efforts to its new Blackberry 10 platform. Unfortunately they just announced that this new line of phones and software will be delayed into next year. This surprised many analysts since RIM’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, had spoken publically at many recent events that they development was on schedule and would be available for the important holiday shopping season. This time of year is the most critical for handset manufacturers. This is supported by the fact that Apple has also moved its annual iPhone release date to early in the fourth quarter.
Blackberry is currently having to compete against the likes of Android and the iPhone using an outdated operating system. Blackberry 10 was supposed to be a platform upgrade that would make these phones relevant competitors again in the market place. During a call with analysts Mr. Heins said the delay was a result of RIM being “overwhelmed by the sheer amount of software code that it was now handling”. In large company-wide developments like this project management is extremely critical so that the entire organization has visibility to progress. Delays in committed ship dates not only reflect poorly upon management, but can have large financial impacts. Right after the announcement RIM’s stock price dropped 14.5%. This delay will probably end up costing Blackberry billions of dollars in lost revenue.
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I have to agree with you. RIMs #1 failure is its failure to update its features and technology of its devices. They have tried to rush products to market. The RIM tablet in response to Apples iPad was rushed and since discontinued for its lack of sales. While Apple and Google continue to push out innovative and sleek products and technology RIMs continues to be stuck in its time period. Even when I am around and I see people continuing to use the outdated technology I can’t help but think to myself WHAT ARE THEY DOING. After owning both and Android and Apple product I cannot see myself ever switching back to those products. RIM needs a serious management change and restructuring change if they want to be competitive, but at this point it might be too late!
I think it is too late Android and Iphone are a theme now you got to have one. They should have thought of this along time ago they are going to be like kodak. They can try becuase people still like the blackberry but they are going to have to have a better operating system then their compititors which is hard because the Iphone and Android are goingt to come out new version every year so they need to implement something that is five years ahead of their time or something. Very late to the game but they still have a name brand. I feel they might just break even for many years before they can come up with something new thats better like they did before.
I have never owned a blackberry but I always felt like they weren’t as easy to use as the iPhones and Androids. Blackberry’s are very user friendly, and they are very, like others said, just out dated. I had a Droid for two years and absolutely loved it but when the iPhone 4 came out I decided to give it a try and love it as well. I remember my best friend having a blackberry for so long and she constantly had problems with it. My mom even had one and had problems too but she still felt too comfortable with the blackberry to give it up for a different phone. I think blackberry needs to rethink some of its strategies if it even wants to consider competing in the cell phone market today.
RIM seems to be lacking focus, an identity, leadership, and an image. It will just be difficult to compete with the apple and androids of the world. Their leadership already cost them by saying that they can’t handle the amounts of coding required for their new system. What they need is to accept who they are and be the best at it. They are still one of the leading if not leading business phones on the market. They need a marketing strategy and should focus on having the number one market position in the business world market. They should tailor products towards ease of use for business people and should focus on a campaign to make it cool to have a blackberry as it once was. They could introduce technologies to compete with the androids and apples of the world in the years to come, but for now they should focus on being the best in class phone for all business professionals. They will then have a focus and identity, and it will be up to the leadership of RIM to make sure to provide all resources to their employees to allow RIM to alter its dwindling image.
RIM is definitly behind on updating with the new technology smart phones currently have. They seem to be lacking proper management, it is obvious that they cannot get on top of the game! They have been behind with technology for a few years now, if they want to recoop they better do it sooner than later or they might never catch up! They should consider hiring new people to get some fresh ideas!
RIM has become a business case in B-school about how critical recognition is of a changing marketplace, and appropriate adaptation, or the company will not make it. RIM may very well not make it–in the face of Windows 8 for Phone, and iPhone iOS 6 both coming out this fall, having Blackberry 10 delayed until next year just puts RIM farther and farther behind the market. They can’t even catch up to the technology that was invented 2-3 years ago, let alone innovate and redefine the smartphone space. They may always have a customer in the US government (which will probably keep the company afloat in some way for many years) but I don’t know how much more success they will have in the mainstream consumer market.