BlackBerry Targets the Enterprise with eBBM Suite

BlackBerry has been effectively fighting for survival over the last couple of years. Much of this has been through the release of new, exciting devices sporting a new, refined OS, BlackBerry 10. However, weak sales of the BlackBerry Z10, the premiere all-touch BB10 device, have shown that maybe new and exciting isn’t the way the company should go.

BlackBerry’s new CEO John Chen seems to know this, as evidenced by the company’s announcements this week at Mobile World Congress. On the device front, BlackBerry is being strategic with an affordable device for Indonesia, where the company’s phones still perform well. However, it’s on the software front where BlackBerry really shines, thanks largely to BBM.

As such, the company is introducing the eBBM Suite, a new family of products and services that work with BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry’s enterprise solutions, BES and BES 10. The goal of this new suite is to provide enterprise-class mobile messaging that combines the core strengths of BBM with enterprise-focused features and capabilities.

Since enterprise BBM use is already pretty high, the eBBM Suite represents the perfect way for BlackBerry to further secure the enterprise segment and keep BBM relevant in the highly competitive OTT messaging apps market.

"BBM has always been an important tool for business users who want real-time messaging that is reliable, trusted and puts control of contacts and personal information in users' hands," said John Sims, president of Global Enterprise Solutions at BlackBerry, in a statement. "With the introduction of the eBBM Suite and BBM Protected, we will provide regulated industries and security-conscious organizations with a powerful and best in class instant messaging solution."

BBM Protected is the first solution being offered from the eBBM Suite. It brings regulated industries the most secure and reliable real-time mobile messaging in the industry. It does so with end-to-end encryption of messages using symmetric encryption keys for BBM messages and best-in-class technology for public-private signing and encryption key pairs.

Further offerings that fall under the eBBM Suite will likely be announced in the coming months.