Last updated on March 4th, 2015 at 12:52 pm
BlackBerry announced Sunday a cross-platform strategy aiming to deliver a package of security and communication tools to any smartphone or tablet device running iOS, Android or Windows.
Dubbed “BlackBerry Experience Suite,” this collection of apps and security tools will be available later this year. It’s being reported the suite will include its Hub messaging portal, virtual keyboard and security capabilities, among others.
Why this move? As Reuters explains, “the Waterloo, Ontario-based company is pivoting to focus more on its software business and core strengths like security that won it recognition over the last decade.”
BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen told reporters: “This is just a very natural evolution of taking our OS, the surfaces and security layers around it and putting it on others’ devices, so that our serviceable market is not only ‘BlackBerry’ devices, but all devices.”
Also on Sunday BlackBerry offered an updated announcement on its partnership with Samsung and the Knox security platform. BlackBerry said it would bring two new business-class services to Knox: WorkLife, a feature that allows businesses to split their employees’ Samsung phones into separate work and personal identities through a “virtual SIM,” making it easier to bill for work use; and the SecuSUITE encryption software that Blackberry gained from its acquisition of Secusmart last year, as CNET reports.
