B

lockbuster, Borders, Brookstone, BlackBerry — 
one of these things is not like the others. What 
once was a household tech name is now a memory 
of the past. But while BlackBerry is no longer considered a 
competitor to moguls Apple and Samsung, it has moved on 
to a new audience: the automotive industry. 
Ten years ago, cell phone users nationwide were typing 
away on their mobile devices with a physical QWERTY 
keyboard. In fact, BlackBerry held roughly 20 percent of 
the smartphone operating system market share. It built its 
own operating system from scratch, and made the unique 
decision not to have it be open source — unlike that of 
Android, which briefly became a security nightmare. For 
this very reason, BlackBerry was picked up by businesses 
and governments worldwide. But despite its recent switch 
to an Android-based operating system, it prides itself on a 
value proposition of security — to the point of former Pres-
ident Barack Obama being permitted to use his BlackBerry 
throughout both his terms, and El Chapo’s reliance on the 
mobile device to conduct his high-stakes activities. 
But while blackberry jam reigns as a top-five preserves 
flavor in the U.S., BlackBerry is taking strides to preserve 
itself. Pick any lens, and it will show BlackBerry on an 
inverse hockey stick. Market share? Revenue? Shipments? 
All of the above reveal a steep decline. But while many 
write BlackBerry off as the next company to file for Chap-
ter 11 bankruptcy, CEO John Chen begs to differ.

After arriving far too late 
to the touchscreen party, the 
company marked its turn-
ing point in 2016 with an 
exit from making its own cell 
phones, now relying on Indo-
nesian partners for manu-
facturing the smaller mobile 
phone business segment. In 
2017, BlackBerry saw a $940 
million dollar windfall after 
winning a lawsuit against 
chip 
manufacturer 
Qual-
comm for overcharging on 
royalties. With this momen-
tum, 
BlackBerry 
followed 
behind IBM, Microsoft and 
others in pursuit of a critical 
pivot: from hardware to soft-
ware. The difference? Chen 
took BlackBerry’s superior 
positioning in security from 
its cellphone heyday, and saw 
an alluring opportunity in 
auto.
Thus was born BlackBerry 
Technology Solutions. With 
a dire need to innovate in 
high-margin and emerging 
business areas, BlackBerry 
created BTS, which is upheld by 3 main pillars: QNX licens-
ing, Radar asset tracking, and Jarvis code scanning. This 
all is to maintain its edge on cybersecurity, radar tracking, 
and the automotive industry in the race to driverless cars. 
But what does that really mean?
In 2010, BlackBerry acquired QNX Software Systems to 
improve its operating systems. QNX was implemented in 
the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in 2011 and in the Black-
Berry 10 in 2013, and picked up by numerous car compa-
nies soon thereafter. In fact, in 2018, it was found that 125 
million vehicles now use QNX technology for car infotain-
ment, competing directly against Microsoft’s Windows 
Embedded Automotive.
But what exactly is car infotainment? Your radio, USB 
and phone connectivity, rear parking assistance, hands-
free Bluetooth capability, navigation system and fuel sen-
sors are all powered by car infotainment software. QNX 
is also being used to improve software for autonomous 
cars. It can handle complex code needed to help driver-
less cars absorb data, and help a car’s software prioritize 
functions based on its environment and decision-making. 
While QNX doesn’t get in front of many people through 
the BlackBerry cell phone, drivers of BMW, Ford, General 
Motors and other car companies use QNX without even 
knowing it. In fact, just over a year ago, Chen announced 
that BlackBerry software powers 60 percent of connected 
cars on the road today.

The second pillar of BTS is BlackBerry Radar, which 
provides real-time data for the trucking industry, with 
the ability to track assets and manage fleets through dash-
boards for management. Radar is one example of the firm’s 
greater “internet of things” mission to combine real-time 
data with everyday objects. Investors’ biggest concern? 
BlackBerry management has been concealing Radar’s rev-
enue performance for two quarters now.
BlackBerry Jarvis, the third prominent asset of BTS, 
was released just over a year ago to fortify self-driving car 
software in order to prevent hackers from finding soft-
ware vulnerabilities. Today, a majority of a car’s typical 
functions are controlled by software, from adaptive cruise 
control to anti-lock brakes, to the sensors that flash when 
you are near other cars. A hacker being able to manipulate 
these functions could mean the difference between safety 
and a major car accident. With dozens of industry players 
racing to achieve the first self-driving car, cybersecurity is 
on the mind for most automakers. As Chen envisioned, this 
is Jarvis’ sweet spot.
These components are the pillars of BTS, but it is impor-
tant to remember that there is more to BlackBerry than 
just BTS. In fact, the division is only the third largest reve-
nue driver of the firm. While BlackBerry’s company vision 
resides within BTS, there is significant room for improve-
ment from a financial standpoint. However, it is headed in 
the right direction. In the last fiscal quarter, Chen stated 
that BTS revenue grew 23 percent over the last year, and 
QNX is taking the lead on this growth.
While BTS is functioning proof of BlackBerry’s new 
vested interest in automotive cybersecurity, its recent 
acquisition of cybersecurity firm Cylance for $1.4 billion is 
perhaps the most compelling stage of its blueprint. While 
it is a pricey one, the acquisition is said to rapidly grow 
the QNX arm of BTS, and perhaps initiate a cybersecurity 
consulting division, which Cylance originally offered as a 
standalone entity.
Interestingly enough, the market did not react sig-
nificantly to the acquisition announcement three months 
ago. In fact, many Wall Street analysts’ price target for 
BlackBerry remained unchanged. Investors are evidently 
approaching BlackBerry’s transformation with caution, 
which is understandable considering the company’s rela-
tively horizontal share price movement, and slow-mov-
ing pivot from its cellphone-associated brand to the auto 
industry.
Just last Thursday, BlackBerry announced that it had 
officially completed the acquisition of Cylance. As with 
any acquisition of a large firm, it will take a sizable amount 
of time before investors get to see tangible results. Until 
then, BlackBerry’s Enterprise Software, licensing and its 
44,000 patents will take lead on keeping the company 
afloat.
While BlackBerry is by no means a company at the fore-
front of tech news today, it is far from having its epitaph 
written maybe because people don’t write their own epi-
taphs.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019 // The Statement
2B

BY ROMY SHARMA, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
BlackBerry isn’t dead

Managing Statement Editor

Andrea Pérez Balderrama

Deputy Editors

Matthew Harmon

Shannon Ors

 Designers

 Liz Bigham

 Kate Glad

 Copy Editors

 Miriam Francisco

 Madeline Turner

Photo Editor

Annie Klusendorf

Editor in Chief

Maya Goldman

Managing Editor

Finntan Storer
statement

THE MICHIGAN DAILY | FEBRUARY 20, 2019

ILLUSTRATION BY NOLAN FELICIDARIO

