For all the negative press that RIM has received over the past little while, I think the company is getting a bad rap. RIM just posted terrific financials and record shipments, but the analysts are still showing caution! I for one think RIM is doing a pretty good job and their products sell well. I’ve had several different smart phones over the years and I just find a BlackBerry to be the right product for what I do. This blog isn’t trying to compare the BlackBerry to the iPhone or Android smartphones. It’s really to highlight a few positive aspects of the company that have been generally overlooked with all the bad press.
First, BlackBerries are used by a lot of people- approximately 50million users. It’s hard not to say it’s been a relatively successful product since it launched service a little over 11 years ago, and it’s still selling well. It is currently being sought after by the teen market with a free texting service, by far the biggest growth area (nice marketing ploy to get them on early). The point I’m trying to make is that I don’t think Blackberries will die because they do very effectively what they do- message people.
The next point that every analyst seems to talk about is- competition is taking market share. So what? Last Wednesday, Colin Gillis of BGC Financial initiated coverage of the company with a “sell” rating. Mr. Gillis said competition from Apple’s iPhone and a host of smart phones running on Google’s Android operating system point to a “slow fade” for RIM’s traditionally dominant position in the market. I don’t think anybody at RIM was thinking they could keep 100% of the market, especially with the proliferation of smartphone devices that are coming main-stream. A dominant market position like RIM is not bad to have! The world reality is that users are now determining how they can work best with tools available to them. If Corporate doesn’t agree, they’ll work around it. And with the world going mobile, this is going to happen whether organizations like it or not.
Next point-RIM is being hammered by countries wanting access to information and threaten to pull service. This continuing feud has put RIM at risk of having service banned in overseas markets like Saudi Arabia and India. Even the head of the United Nations telecommunications agency has urged RIM to allow law enforcement agencies access to customer data. As a group of users, let me suggest we’re too far removed from these issues to even suggest they can be overturned. It’s not just RIM; Google faces challenges in 37 U.S. states, Czechoslovakia and a number of other countries to have street images removed for ‘privacy’ reasons. Craigslist was pressured to remove their Adult Service section. Just take a look at Canada and how difficult it is to change CRTC or even federal government direction.
Last point, how bad is the company as a company? Not bad at all, both from an employee standpoint and from a financial position. RIM is hiring approximately 2,000 employees this year, as they have the last several years even with the recession. Employee perks are terrific including very competitive salaries, an Employee Assistance Plan (counseling, referrals and information on a variety of issues including personal well-being, parenting, financial issues, etc), a gym/fitness center membership, a Worldwide Travel and Medical Emergency Assistance Program and a Blackberry smartphone! Financially, the company is trading at about 11 times earnings, far below other smartphone manufacturers and RIM is sitting on about $3.3 Billion cash- not bad at all. And they are not sitting quiet, buying companies like Cellmania, QNX Software System, Viigo and just recently DataViz to stay competitive.
One thing is for sure, they are not doing business as if they are in survival mode. And we certainly need a Canadian success story.
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