RIM throws up the white flag; acknowledges iOS in the enterprise space.

Today Research In Motion has pretty much said if we can’t beat them, lets profit of them. They have launched a new enterprise mobile device management tool called BlackBerry MobileFusion.  With this tool IT managers can manage BlackBerry smartphones and  the little used BlackBerry PlayBook. The software will also be able to manage tablets and smartphones running Android and iOS. So a IT manager will be able to do the following to your iDevice should you have it on the company network.

• Activate and configure devices and profiles over the air
• Enable access to enterprise Mail, Calendar and PIM
• Administer users and groups, natively and directory based
• Establish corporate IT Policies and Security
• Manage lost devices – Password Reset, Device Lock, Device Wipe
• Deploy internally-developed apps
• Define (and enforce) public applications as mandatory or optional
• Provides Rooting & Jailbreak Detection
• Prevent apps from accessing corporate mail accounts

Blackberry says “IT managers need to accommodate individually purchased units that come into the enterprise, whether by a sales rep deciding to expense the latest handset, a doctor bringing in their personal phone for hospital work, or a field worker getting whatever’s available on special as a replacement unit.”

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion server software is  a free download and  Client Access Licenses are included free for 60 days at the moment as well too. This will give IT managers a chance to try it out before a full roll out.

RIM Blackberry 10: iPhone iOS clone?

 

Research in Motion has already confirmed that BlackBerry 10 smartphones won’t be shipping until late this year. This will not help them if they are trying to get into the good graces of Smartphone buyers.  CrackBerry showed a preview of what’s to come. They will have home screen widgets. They also have  iOS-styled folders and integrated video calling.

The new BlackBerry 10 widgets look like they were cut and paste from Windows and Android. The new folder icon shows you a preview of the applications inside and a dedicated video chat button. The BlackBerry 10 OS looks like it is years ahead of  RIM’s current OS but will it be enough to get people to buy a Blackberry? I think the answer to that is no. It is way too late in the game right now. They would have to do something that is a game changer. BGR reported that the BlackBerry London will be the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone to market. It  is scheduled for a late September release but realistically it’s looking more like  October.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis Gives a public apology for ongoing World Wide BlackBerry outage

Lazaridis said “We’ve let many of you down. You expect better from us. And I expect better from us. We are working around the clock to fix this.” RIM had thought the issue was resolved late Monday. They were wrong the service interruptions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa led to a back log of data. This is what the current issue is. The main core switch failure issue has been taken care of but all that back log of emails and text have to catch up. It’s like a clogged drain of data right now for RIM.

Lazaridis said said that “normal BlackBerry service levels” in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa where it all started are back to normal. The co-chief warned that RIM is not out of the woods yet. That is correct it is going to take a while for all that data to get back to normal. There are a lot of companies and most of the US government use RIM daily. Productivity should be at a all time high. People can go old school and hands on. Make phone calls, remember that, a voice not a text?   This is not a good time for this to happen. The iPhone 4S comes out Friday. I look for a lot of people to jump ship on the failing company. Unfortunately Enterprise do not have that luxury.

Blackberry: Black & Blue year continues. Service out for 3rd day

BlackBerry users across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and even some areas in South America are still without access to the Wen or messaging services for the third consecutive day. BlackBerry had said the issues were resolved following one day of service interruptions to millions of users.

Research In Motion confirmed earlier that a bug on a Blackberry server was responsible for the issues they have had.  There were millions offline on Monday. Than on Tuesday that the interruption continued. The bug that is the caused a core switch failure is still not fixed. RIM now says the outage has caused a large backlog of data that must be cleared before service can return to normal. No firm timeline has been issued.

 

RIM says on the support website: Service update

Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to many of you and we will continue to keep you informed.

BGR publishes open letter about RIM. Less than 24 hours later plans to spit Co-CEO role. Coincidence I think not!

 

 

RIM seems to have listen to the Open Letter that was published on BGR. RIM said it would consider splitting its Chief Executive and Chairman roles. That partnership has worked well for RIM. According to RIM, they ship 100 phones  per minute. While very success overseas is great, in the United States RIM is perceived as “old school.” It’s the phone your father was forced to use for work. It at one time was the very definition of a smartphone. The times have since changed but RIM along with other one time innovation leaders seem to be stuck in a rut.

Why is RIM doing this change ahead of its annual shareholder meeting next month? Simple, RIM has been under a lot criticism from shareholders about Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis who both share CEO roles. Now keep in mind that RIM is only forming a committee to study the CEO and board roles. That means nothing might happen other than hope it’s enough to get the monkey of their backs for a little bit.

RIM and NEI Investments Announce Withdrawal of Shareholder Proposal; RIM Committee to Review Matter Raised by Proposal

Waterloo, ON -

Research In Motion Limited (“RIM”) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. (“NEI Investments”) announced today that, following discussions between them, NEI Investments has decided to withdraw its proposal that was to be considered at the RIM Annual General Meeting. The proposal asked that RIM’s Board of Directors adopt a policy that divides the role of Chair and CEO, and that RIM have an independent Chair.  The parties have agreed that RIM’s Board will establish a Committee of independent directors whose mandate will generally be to (i) study the appropriate balance between an independent lead director or chair with full and exclusive authority customarily held by such an office holder, (ii) determine the business necessity for RIM’s Co-CEOS to have significant Board level titles to assist their selling and other responsibilities with certain large customers in overseas markets, and (iii)  propose and provide a rationale for a recommended governance structure for RIM, which will include clarifications of the Co-CEOs and Chair roles, as well as the Board’s mandate. The Committee will consult with NEI Investments in developing the specific terms of reference for this mandate and before it issues its report by January 31, 2012. The Board will publicly respond to the recommendations of the Committee within 30 days.

As a result, the proposal will no longer be presented at the Annual General Meeting and no vote will be taken on the proposal at the meeting. RIM and NEI Investments are pleased to have reached an agreement on this matter, and these important issues of corporate governance will receive further consideration at the RIM Board level.