Ford loves Blackberry. Ford loves Blackberry not… Yes, the big news is that the giant international automaker that is Ford is adopting Apple iPhones for its employee. Blackberry dies, right? Yes, fewer Ford employees will be carrying ’em but Ford cars will have Blackberry under-the-hood.
What’s it all about? Perception and changing market fundamentals.
Yes, Ford has announced it is transitioning thousands of employees to the iPhone from Blackberry. Initially, Ford will move 3,300 workers to iPhone by the end of year and another 6,000 employees over the next two years.
“We are going to get everyone on iPhones,” said Sara Tatchio, a Ford spokeswoman. “It meets the overall needs of the employees because it is able to serve both our business needs in a secure way and the needs we have in our personal lives with a single device.”
Quite naturally, Blackberry spokesman Adam Emery has a different take on Ford’s move into Apple’s iPhone + iPad + iOS walled garden: “While we can’t comment on this customer, we understand that there is diversity and choice in the market. Enterprises should think twice about relying on any solution built on the foundation of a consumer technology that lacks the proven security benefits that BlackBerry has always delivered.”
Mr Emery, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for Ford to see the error of its ways. In fact, as smartphone maker Blackberry dies a little every day, you might want to start looking for a new job perhaps in a different division.
That said, Ford is hardly a total loss for Blackberry. How’s that?
Blackberry Dies from Sight
Back in February, Ford announced it’s dumping Microsoft’s in-car technology for Blackberry’s QNX. In fact, QNX is the dominant in-car operating system and works well with not only iPhone, but also Android, etc.
Yes, Ford moving its 181,000 employees worldwide to the iPhone absolutely hurts Blackberry — there is a very real chance Blackberry as a smartphone could go away. However, Blackberry as a maker of embedded operating systems preferred by automakers around the world is on the rise.
So, who is the real loser? Yes, the smartphone maker Blackberry dies a little more every day, but Microsoft is by the far the biggest loser in this deal…
What’s your take?