Yesterday The Financial Post ran a story that said, “BlackBerry is not seen as a pure cybersecurity company” and noted, “Canada’s cybersecurity sector will remain without a ‘homegrown’ champion.” I respectfully disagree with both points and would like to explain why.
BlackBerry has been focused on security for 35 years. From building the world’s most secure smartphone to securing some of the world’s most sensitive data and infrastructures – our technology has arguably changed the way people work and live for the better.
With the recent acquisition of Cylance, BlackBerry now has a billion-dollar cybersecurity software portfolio, but we’re not stopping there. Cylance’s machine learning and artificial intelligence technology is a strategic addition, as its embeddable AI technology will accelerate the development of BlackBerry Spark, the secure communications platform for the Internet of Things (IoT). The capabilities that BlackBerry Spark will provide is something that traditional and next-generation cybersecurity companies simply can’t offer.
It’s because of this, I understand why the industry doesn’t see us as a pure cybersecurity company. Our current and future products address a much larger market: securing the Internet of Things.
Ultimately, BlackBerry is a technology company that provides enterprises and governments with software to secure the IoT devices they use, the products they make, and the data that flows in and out of their network. We are able to do this because BlackBerry leads in key areas such as cybersecurity, endpoint management, encryption, embedded systems and data privacy.
As the world becomes more and more connected, with every ‘thing’ having its own IP address, BlackBerry’s role ensuring safety, security and data privacy will become much more important. So, to the writer who said, “Canada’s cybersecurity sector will remain without a champion,” I say you’re wrong.
BlackBerry is that champion, we’re just punching above our weight.
