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BlackBerry now available for corporate customers

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-28 10:10

RIM, a global leader in the mobile communications market, was founded in 1984 and now operates in about 130 countries, with offi ces in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. At the end of the fourth quarter of fi scal 2008, the total BlackBerry subscriber account base was more than 14 million.

RIM's net income for fi scal 2008 was $1.29 billion, up 105 percent from the previous year.

RIM has high hopes for the lucrative Chinese market, the world's biggest for mobile phones with an estimated 500 million users. Analysts have estimated RIM could see a 25 percent growth in worldwide customers once it gets fully active in China.

"We're bullish about the prospects of BlackBerry in China," Lo says at an interview in Beijing. "We really feel there's a need and a desire for organizations in China to use a productivity tool and a solution like BlackBerry. It makes China-based enterprises that much more effective."

"We want to roll out BlackBerry in a coordinated, phased manner," he says of BlackBerry's wishes to sell to the Chinese general public. "It's a matter of making sure we do the due diligence ... You can rush into a market, but if you don't have all the plans and partnerships in place, then that's not necessarily the best way forward. We're really looking as a long-term strategic plan. We want to do it right."

One of RIM's hurdles in China will be facing low-cost competition. In 2006, China Unicom, the country's second biggest mobile operator, launched the unapologeticallynamed RedBerry service, in an attempt to capitalize on RIM's success. Even RIM's partner, China Mobile, has its own push-mail device, also a cheaper alternative to the BlackBerry.

But Lo shrugs off the competition, noting that both China Unicom and China Mobile are targeting a different market with their devices than RIM will with BlackBerry.

"The competing devices are different animals. It's really an A to B comparison. They aren't the same thing," he says. "BlackBerry is the defacto standard for global enterprises. It's a trusted, reliable solution."

Lo says RIM is taking a "phased approach" into China, mimicking an approach it has taken in other markets. But he says it's a matter of time before BlackBerry is as synonymous with business in China and it is in the West.

"It comes down to not if, but when," Lo says. "As we continue to develop the market and raise awareness in the country, we do intend to expand our market reach to offer BlackBerry to broader segments, including consumers."

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