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The Future of BlackBerry Devices

Last week we announced some strategic developments for our Mobility Solutions business. BlackBerry is no longer just about the smartphone, but the smart in the phone. That means that we will be focused on developing and licensing our secure device software and the BlackBerry brand. We will discontinue handset hardware development and fully leverage third parties to develop hardware and distribute and support the BlackBerry handset brand. Through this strategy, there will continue to be BlackBerry-branded devices in the market; when you see our logo it means security, from our class-leading enterprise software to devices secured by BlackBerry software.

Licensing the BlackBerry device software experience allows us to leverage our core strengths to provide secure, connected, and inherently mobile solutions. It also allows us to expand the mobility choices available to our customers by bringing BlackBerry security and productivity applications to a wider audience across multiple platforms and devices.

Although we are no longer focused on internal device hardware development, our strategy seeks to expand the mobility choices available to our customers by bringing BlackBerry security and productivity software to a wider audience across multiple platforms and devices. Fundamentally, our announcement represents a change in our approach to the mobile device supply chain, with associated market expansion for our software offerings. Our class-leading enterprise software is unaffected by today’s announcement. Recently we were proud to announce that BlackBerry ranks the highest in all six categories of Gartner’s High-Security Mobility Management Study.

This is not a new direction for BlackBerry, but a continuation of our strategy. For example, we recently made the BlackBerry Hub, Calendar, and Password Keeper applications available on the Google Play Store for use on a wide range of Android smartphones. We also integrated our smartphone software in conjunction with a hardware platform partner to release DTEK50. And, we announced a partnership with a joint venture in Indonesia, PT BB Merah Putih, to license BlackBerry secure Android software and services for devices in the Indonesia market. But we’re not stopping there: A key element of our strategy is continual development of our Mobility Solutions software products and services roadmap, including the upcoming BB 10.3.3 release, continued commitment to rapid software updates and feature development for our secure Android software platform, and continued repairs and support of in-market BlackBerry devices.

BlackBerry software remains the most secure and comprehensive way to connect people, devices, processes, and systems for today’s enterprise of things, and we’re excited to further extend our offerings in secure mobility through our licensing strategy.

John Chen

About John Chen

John Chen is Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry. Appointed in November 2013, John led BlackBerry’s turnaround stabilizing the company’s financial position, ensuring its viability, and pivoting its operations from consumer hardware to enterprise software. Today the company takes advantage of the current growth opportunities in IoT and Cybersecurity and is pioneering the convergence of these two markets.

John is a distinguished business leader and proven turnaround executive with over 40 years of engineering and management experience. Prior to joining BlackBerry, John served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc. where he re-invented the company and achieved 55 consecutive quarters of profitability during his 15-year tenure.

Recognized as a thought leader and as a respected voice in foreign policy, John has testified before Congress on U.S.–China trade relations and was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Export Council. In 2006, he was appointed co-chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee. Additionally, John chaired the U.S.-China Policy Advisory Roundtable for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), served on the Board of the National Committee on U.S. China Relations since 2012, and has been a member of the Committee of 100 since 1997 and its Chairman from 2009-2011.

John graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). John has an honorary professorship from Shanghai University, and honorary doctorates from San Jose State University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. John has received awards from the U.S.-Asia Institute, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, the California-Asia Business Council, and the U.S.-Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.

John served on the Board of Directors for The Walt Disney Company (2004-2019) and Wells Fargo & Co. (2006-2018) and as a trustee of Caltech (2008-2022). John is an Advisory Board member of the US Chamber China Center. He is also active in the not-for-profit community, and is a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member of CFR, national trustee of The First Tee and Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.