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Introducing the Crisis Communications Specialization for BlackBerry Channel Partners

Whether it’s a cloud outage, natural disaster, terrorist attack or cybersecurity threat, organizations have a fundamental need to maintain operations and keep people safe. It is with that in mind that we are pleased to announce a new opportunity for BlackBerry Solution Providers.  The Crisis Communications Specialization will empower members of our Enterprise Partner Program, allowing them to offer their deep expertise in helping clients communicate and collaborate when disaster strikes.

The Crisis Communications Specialization is built on BlackBerry AtHoc, our industry-leading crisis communications platform. Geared towards BlackBerry partners with a proven track record of successful software deployment in industries with critical life-safety requirements, the initiative also offers partners an AtHoc training curriculum for sales, technical support, and integration. Our end goal is to build a trusted worldwide network of AtHoc-certified channel experts.

To that end, we have already made great progress with one of our partners, Australian-based crisis communications firm Crisis Shield.

Together, BlackBerry and Crisis Shield have developed an initiative known as The Melbourne Shield. This program allows Melbourne-based organizations and institutions with a duty of care to stay connected with one another during an emergency. Concurrent with our announcement today, three new Australian organizations have joined the Melbourne Shield program, working together to create safer workplaces and a safer city.

“Our clients, especially those with a duty of care, are increasingly looking for ways to create a secure environment for their people and limit disruption to business,” Crisis Shield Managing Director Alan Briggs explains.  “Crisis Shield is working with BlackBerry, combining our expertise in crisis communications with the BlackBerry AtHoc platform, including our Melbourne Shield people safety initiative.  With our unique skill set, Crisis Shield will now be pursuing the accreditation to become BlackBerry’s first Crisis Communication Specialist partner.”

BlackBerry has always been committed to our partners. We realize that a strong ecosystem is critical to a business’s growth, no matter its size. That’s why we constantly look to bring forward new opportunities such as this one.

Because we know that together, we can make the future BlackBerry Secure.

For more information on the new BlackBerry Crisis Communications Specialization and BlackBerry’s Enterprise Partner Program, please visit www.blackberry.com/partners or sign up for the newsletter here. Additional information on the Melbourne Shield can be found here.

Richard McLeod

About Richard McLeod

I am the Global Vice-President for Enterprise Software Channels at BlackBerry.