BlackBerry sees channel critical to regaining top position 

John Chen, the CEO and chief architect of the firm’s restructuring, now says BlackBerry will need to rely on its channel network if the company is ever going to regain its former status as a market leader.

At the BlackBerry Security Summit in New York, Chen said that while the company has been weening its self from its hardware roots, it has also been focusing on building its channel network.

Asked by one of the attendees of the conference what would take for BlackBerry to once more “be on top,” Chen said:

“We have always had a lot of technology. That’s why we feel comfortable we can be a top player….we have changed the direction of the company and pivoted to software, but I realize we still had a lack of channels.”

Chen said that BlackBerry has about 600 customers – telcos and other companies that use BlackBerry technology to provide services and products to their own customers.

“To get back on top, we will need a lot of channel and partners to achieve the reach we need,” he said.

Chen noted that efforts to realign the company have resulted in 75 per cent year-over-year growth rates as well as 25 per cent growth in BlackBerry’s technology solutions channel.

Cybersecurity and its application in transportation and automotive sector will is a huge part of BlackBerry’s strategy.

BlackBerry sees a tremendous opportunity with the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), connected sensors and interest in autonomous vehicle technology.