BlackBerry CEO John Chen

Dear CrackBerry,

Congratulations On 10 years Of CrackBerry.

Happy birthday and a big thank you to both CrackBerry and the CrackBerry community, for your support and loyalty over the years.

On this milestone I want to share some perspectives on BlackBerry's journey.

In The Beginning.

Since BlackBerry, or RIM as it was known at the time, was founded in 1984 it has been an innovator and a market leader.  Starting with the pager and the smartphone, with the world-famous keyboard and blinking red light, and taking the world by storm with BBM.

The New BlackBerry.

When I joined BlackBerry, just over three years ago, the company was rapidly losing smartphone market share, but it was obvious to me that the company had something unique and winning. That is in addition to a user base, past and present, that was passionate about seeing BlackBerry be a leader again.  The secret sauce?  BlackBerry Security.

Today we have taken that secret sauce and turned it into a market-leading strategy – securing the Enterprise of Things.

Securing The Enterprise Of Things.

BlackBerry's mission is to become the foundational layer of IoT, securely connecting all endpoints.  Here are a few lesser known facts about how we are delivering on this today:

  • Connected Cars – BlackBerry software is in over 60 million cars worldwide
  • Enterprise Mobility Management – BlackBerry has the highest EMM market share worldwide
  • Cross-Platform – We want everyone to be able to be able to be BlackBerry Secure so, we have made our EMM solution compatible with all major OS platforms
  • Security Leadership – BlackBerry's position as a leader of secure mobility solutions is widely accepted and we have the heritage, customers, certifications, IP and industry-awards to back it up
  • Pivot – In 2016 BlackBerry completed its pivot to become a software company

Licensing Strategy.

This was an emotional decision for me, but also a necessary one.  It ensures BlackBerry smartphones continue to be available.

So, what does EoT mean for BlackBerry smartphones?  We recently announced a licensing strategy for BlackBerry smartphones, which entails outsourcing hardware development and operations, to partners.  I want you to know that this was an emotional decision for me, but also a necessary one.  It ensures BlackBerry smartphones continue to be available, maintaining a core part of the company's history, and at the same time enabling our software strategy to fully take root, positioning the company for continued growth.  The BlackBerry smartphones that our licensing partners will produce will run on BlackBerry Secure Android software, which BlackBerry will continue to develop and deliver.

Here's To The Next 10 Years!

BlackBerry connects and secures many other endpoints today, including wearables, medical devices and self-driving cars.  We are continuing to expand to all endpoints so, as the world becomes increasingly connected, BlackBerry security will help keep you safe.

I am grateful for your commitment as BlackBerry has gone through the changes it needed to.  I am excited about the future of BlackBerry and hope that you are too.

Best wishes,

John Chen
Executive Chairman & CEO
BlackBerry

PS Great to have you back, CrackBerry Kevin.

Image Credit: Fortune.com