1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Company Overview
Blackberry is a brand that was created by Research in Motion's (RIM) Founder Mike Lazaridis in 1996, providing wireless web enabled devices across multiple networks. At the time, Lazaridis was an engineering student at the University of Waterloo while Fregin was an engineering student at the University of Windsor. BlackBerry Limited (BlackBerry), incorporated on February 24, 2003, is a provider of mobile communications. The Company is engaged primarily in the provision of the BlackBerry wireless solution, consisting of smartphones, service and software. The Company's four areas of business are Devices business, Enterprise Services, BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS) business and Messaging. The Company's Devices business is focused on delivering smartphone products. BlackBerry's Enterprise Services business offers enterprise products and services. The Company's BTS business consists of five units: QNX Software Systems Limited (QNX), Certicom, Paratek, the BlackBerry Internet of Things (IoT) Platform, and Intellectual Property and Patent Licensing (IPPL). The Company's Messaging business is engaged in providing BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
The Company's smartphones are powered by the BlackBerry 10 operating system (OS). BlackBerry smartphones are available from various carriers and indirect channels, through a range of distribution partners, and are designed to operate on a range of carrier networks, including High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), HSPA+, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (Ev-DO) and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN).
Devices business. The Company offers a portfolio of QWERTY and full-touch smartphone products to both the enterprise and consumer markets. BlackBerry has a joint device development and manufacturing agreement with Foxconn. The Company's product portfolio is focused on serving enterprise customers, particularly in regulated industries and some vertical markets, including financial services, Government and healthcare.
Enterprise Services. BlackBerry caters to the enterprise marketing management (EMM) and mobile device management (MDM) markets through its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) platform. The Company's primary enterprise software offering is its BES12 platform. BlackBerry's other enterprise services include Enterprise Identity by BlackBerry, which provides access to cloud-based services with a single point of entitlement, control and audit for various cloud apps; virtual private network (VPN) Authentication by BlackBerry, which provides the option of eliminating the need for employee passwords or personal identification numbers (PINs) and hardware tokens; BBM Meetings, which provides a mobile-first collaboration app that provides a way to work on BlackBerry and Android devices, as well as connecting with users on a Windows personal computer (PC) or Mac; BlackBerry Blend for Enterprise, which allows employees to access personal and work data from their BlackBerry smartphone on desktops and tablets, and WorkLife by BlackBerry, which allows enterprises to add a separate corporate phone number to personal devices brought in by their employees or enables the employee to add a separate personal phone number to a corporate-liable device provided by the company. The Company also offers BBM Protected services.
BTS business. The Company's BlackBerry Technology Solutions business consists of five units: QNX, Certicom, Paratek, the BlackBerry IoT Platform and IPPL. QNX is a provider of operating systems, development tools and middleware for the automotive, medical, industrial, consumer, networking and defense markets. QNX provides software for automotive electronics, with products deployed in the infotainment and telematics systems of over 50 million vehicles across the world. QNX automotive customers include Audi, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW), Chrysler, Ford, General Motors (GM), Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen, and over 40 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) altogether. QNX is also a supplier for companies building medical devices, train-control systems, industrial robots, hardware security modules, building automation systems, green energy solutions, and other mission-critical and safety-critical applications.
Certicom is focused on applied cryptography and key management, offering both software components and end-to-end security solutions targeted at bandwidth and resource-constrained applications. Paratek designs, develops and licenses its radio frequency (RF) antenna tuning technology. The BlackBerry IoT Platform connects data generators with data consumers via a platform and application service modules, which are hosted on a global, scalable, multi-tenant network protected by BlackBerry's security features. The IPPL unit manages a patent portfolio, which includes a range of both standards essential patents and implementation patents.
Messaging. BBM is the Company's instant mobile to mobile private messaging service and, as of February 28, 2015, was available on BlackBerry, iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms. BBM's offerings include free voice calling over wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), one-click sharing of files and photos, Dropbox integration, location sharing and BBM Channels. For enterprise customers, the Company offers for BBM Protected for enterprise communications and a mobile-first meeting experience with BBM Meetings.
The Company competes with Apple Inc., Google, Microsoft Corporation, Samsung, LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, Lenovo Group Ltd., HTC Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Nokia Corporation, ZTE Corporation, Xiaomi Inc., IBM, SAP AG, Citrix, VMware, Inc., Mobile Iron, Inc., Good Technology Corporation, Green Hills Software, Intel Corporation, MontaVista Software, Mentor Graphics Corporation, Sysgo AG, Facebook, Line, WeChat, Viber, Kik, Kakao Talk, Telegram, Snapchat, Cumulocity, Exosite and IBM.

Logo as Research In Motion.

In 1999, RIM introduced the BlackBerry 850 pager. Named in reference to the resemblance of its keyboard's keys to thedruplets of the blackberry fruit, the device could receive push email from a Microsoft Exchange Server using its complementary server software, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). The introduction of the BlackBerry set the stage for future enterprise-oriented products from the company, such as the BlackBerry 957 in April 2000, the first BlackBerrysmartphone. The BlackBerry OS platform and BES continued to increase in functionality—while the incorporation ofencryption and S/MIME support helped BlackBerry devices gain increased usage by governments and businesses.[16][17]During fiscal 1999-2001, total assets declared in the RIM's balance sheet grew eight-fold due to massive capacity expansion.

1.2 Board Of Director and Senior Management
John Chen is Executive Chairman of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
John is a distinguished and proven leader in the technology industry. Prior to joining BlackBerry, he served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc., where he developed and led the company’s re-invention from a mature, slower-growth technology company into a $1.5 billion-plus high-growth innovator. Under his direction, Sybase became the leading provider of enterprise mobility and mobile commerce solutions, achieving 55 consecutive quarters of profitability.
John previously held a series of executive positions at Siemens AG, Pyramid Technology Corp., and Burroughs Corp. He started his career as a design engineer with Unisys Corp.
John is actively involved in international relations. He has testified before Congress on U.S.–China trade relations. In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on the President's Export Council. In 2006, he was appointed co-chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee. Additionally, John chaired the U.S.-China Policy Advisory Roundtable for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In recognition of his leadership in building U.S.-Asia relations, John has received awards from the US-Asia Institute, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, and the California-Asia Business Council. For his corporate board work, he has been honored by the U.S.-Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.
John graduated from Brown University magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and holds a master's in electrical engineering from California Institute of Technology. John has an honorary professorship from Shanghai University, and honorary doctorates from San Jose State University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
John serves on the board of directors for The Walt Disney Company and Wells Fargo & Co. He is also active in the not-for-profit community, and is also a trustee of Caltech, board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member of CFR, national trustee of The First Tee and Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.

Mr. Watsa, 63, has served as Lead Director of the Company since November 2013 and previously served as a director of the Company from January 2012 to August 2013. He has a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, India and obtained his MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He is also a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mr. Watsa is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (“Fairfax”). He is also Vice President of Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel, a subsidiary of Fairfax. Prior to joining Fairfax, he held various positions with Confederation Life Insurance Company and GW Asset Management. In addition, Mr. Watsa is a member of the board of trustees of the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, a member of the Advisory Board for the Richard Ivey School of Business, a member of the board of directors of the Royal Ontario Museum Foundation, and Chairman of the Investment Committee of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Toronto.

Mr. Daniels, 68, has served as a director of the Company since October 2014. Mr. Daniels currently serves as a Director of Mercury Systems and CACI International and as Chairman of Invincea. Mr. Daniels also currently serves as a director of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and as Chairman of the Logistics Management Institute. He also leads the National Advisory Board of the American Enterprise Institute Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy. Mr. Daniels previously held various senior management positions at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) from 1986-2004. While at SAIC Mr. Daniels identified and acquired Network Solutions and served as Chairman from 1995 until 2000 when the company was acquired by VeriSign. Mr. Daniels was Chairman and CEO of Mobile 365 from 2005 until the sale of the company to Sybase in 2006. He then served as a director of Sybase from 2007 to 2010. He has also served as Chairman of GlobalLogic and as a director of VeriSign, Apogen Technologies and Telcordia Technologies. Mr. Dattels, 53, has served as a director of the Company since July 2012. He has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. (Honors) from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Dattels is a Senior Partner of TPG Capital, LP. Prior to joining TPG, Mr. Dattels served as a Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and was head of Investment Banking for all Asian countries other than Japan. In addition to the public Board memberships listed below, Mr. Dattels is a Trustee of the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Jazz and the World Affairs Council. Mr. Lynch, 64, has served as a director of the Company since February 2013. He has a Bachelor and Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Lowell Technological Institute (now University of Massachusetts) and Post Graduate Executive education from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. Mr. Lynch is President of FB Associates, LLC, which provides advisory and consulting services at the intersection of technology, marketing and business operations. Prior to his current role, Mr. Lynch served as Executive Vice-President & Chief Technology Officer for Verizon Communications and the Executive Vice-President & Chief Technology Officer of Verizon Wireless. He is a Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and currently serves as a Director of TranSwitch Corporation and Ruckus Wireless. Mr. Lynch has also served on a number of professional organizations including the GSM Association, the CDMA Development Group, the Federal Communications Commission Technical Advisory Committee and the Communications Security Reliability and Interoperability Council. Mr. Lynch has been honored with the President's Award by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association and has also been inducted into the Wireless History Foundation's Hall of Fame.

Dr. Smaldone Alsup, 61, has served as a director of the Company since June 2015. She has a BA from Fordham College and an MD from Yale University, where she completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Medical Oncology. Dr. Smaldone Alsup is President and Chief Scientific Officer of PharmApprove, a pharmaceutical strategic regulatory and scientific communications firm, and serves as a director of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals. She was previously Chief Executive Officer of Phytomedics, prior to which she held clinical and regulatory leadership roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, including Senior Vice President of Global Regulatory Science and Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Risk Management. Dr. Smaldone Alsup has also served with numerous professional and charitable organizations including the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Conference Board Strategic Risk Management Council and the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. Ms. Stymiest, 56, has served as a director of the Company since March 2007 and has been the Chair of Board of the Company since January 2012. She has an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario and a FCA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Ms. Stymiest is currently a corporate director. From 2004 to 2011, Ms. Stymiest was a member of the Group Executive of the Royal Bank of Canada which is responsible for the Bank’s overall strategic direction. Prior to that, she held positions as Chief Executive Officer at TSX Group Inc., Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Partner of Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Stymiest is currently a Director of George Weston Limited, Sun Life Financial Inc., University Health Network and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. She has also served on a number of professional and charitable organizations including the Canadian Institute for Chartered Accountants’ Accounting Oversight Committee, United Way Campaign Cabinet and Hincks-Dellcrest Children’s Centre

Mr. Wouters, 64, has served as a director of the Corporation since October 2015. Mr. Wouters has an honours bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University. He is a Strategic and Policy Advisor to McCarthy Tétrault LLP and serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of United Way Worldwide. From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Wouters was the Clerk of the Privy Council of Canada and, in that capacity, held the roles of Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Public Service. Prior to his tenure as Clerk, Mr. Wouters was Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada and served in deputy ministerial and other senior positions in the Canadian public service. Mr. Wouters has received numerous awards, including an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the André Mailhot Award for lifetime achievement from the United Way Canada. He was inducted by the Prime Minister as a member of the Privy Council in 2014

2.0 Vision and Mission

2.1 Vision
The company's goal and vision is clear: "to provide solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market, including the software that allows the BlackBerry Smartphone to provide mobile access to email, applications, media and the Internet."

2.2 MISSION:

• RIM's ability to enhance current products and develop and introduce new products
• the efficient and uninterrupted operation of RIM's network operations center and the networks of its carrier partners;
• RIM's ability to establish new, and to build on existing, relationships with its network carrier partners;
• RIM's dependence on its carrier partners to grow its BlackBerry subscriber base;
• RIM's reliance on its suppliers for functional components and the risk that suppliers will not be able to supply components on a timely basis;
• competition;
• effective management of growth and ongoing development of RIM's service and support operations;
• a breach of RIM's security measures, or an inappropriate disclosure of confidential corporate or personal information;
• reduced spending by customers due to the uncertainty of economic and geopolitical conditions;
• risks associated with RIM's expanding foreign operations;
• RIM's dependence on a limited number of significant customers;
• the continued quality and reliability of RIM's products;
• RIM's ability to manage production facilities efficiently;
• dependence on key personnel;
• continued use and expansion of the Internet;
• regulation, certification and health risks

3.0 S.W.O.T
3.1 Strengths * Secure Phones. In a time where data hacking is prominent and the exposure to such hacks can be devastating, many are turning to BlackBerry’s secure The company released its phones with a secure encrypted network that allowed sending emails between phones with limited possibility of stealing the information. As mentioned earlier, this is Chen’s main focus in the forthcoming years. The evidence of this strength is seen by BlackBerry being the number one choice for many governments worldwide. * QWERTY Keyboard. The Company’s main way in which it locks its customers is through its keyboard and messenger services. The firm has expertise in the field of keyboard phone, of which supply is limited. Thus giving the mobile giants a competitive edge. * The EMM Edge. As mentioned above, the acquisition of Good Technology in November will prove crucial in the upcoming year. The Investment in the well-rounded and tenured enterprise mobility management (EMM) vendor, gives BlackBerry the ability to shift its business strategy to the software field. The acquisition has resulted in BlackBerry now owing 19% market share in the EMM market, thus showing its dominance in the field. * QNX. The Canadian company is planning to relaunch its much anticipated QXN real-time operating system into the Internet of Things at CES, in Las Vegas, this month. CEO, John Chen, acquired QNX over 5 years ago and was not so successful when it was interweaved in the PlayBook venture. However, he hopes that the new technology and product related roll out in 2016 will be fruitful. * Asset Tracking Box. Dr. Chennakeshu, president of BlackBerry Technology solutions, is working on the development of the asset tracking box. This box will have “GPS, sensors and a cellular modem it can measure temperature, humidity pressure and movement. It can also figure out the location, if someone has opened the door and cargo levels in the container and send the data securely to the cloud,” Dr. Chennakeshu said. The box help will be extremely beneficial to logistics managers as they will be able to track the cargo at any given point of time and, in turn, help be more efficient and save costs. Blackberry vision is to sell everything related to the box from the hardware, the cloud service and a smartphone application in a subscription model.

3.2 Weaknesses * Poor branding – BlackBerry was a market leader prior to Samsung and Apple’s penetration into the market. However, the firm was unable to build on that due to poor marketing efforts. CNET reports that BlackBerry spends lower amounts ($41.3 million) on marketing, about 10 times lower than Apple ($400 million) and 8 times lower than Samsung ($334 million) in 2012. Moreover, inability to market the brand also resulted in declining brand reputation and low customer loyalty. The company’s declining brand value demonstrates a fall in brand awareness and low sales. Interbrand illustrated how BlackBerry was one of the top declining brands in 2012 out of the top 100 best global brands. * Limited Apps. BlackBerry customer base is too small to be profitable for major application developers. The company offers the limited application on its app stores, which in turns makes BlackBerry unattractive. This creates a vicious cycle as it results in many developers not willing to cooperate with BlackBerry and build an app, as the numbers of users will be small. * Government dependency. As mentioned many a time throughout this article, the government is a prominent user of BlackBerry services, due to its impressive security features. However, it is risky for the company to put all its faith into this strategy as it is not guaranteed to receive long-term contracts from the government. A loss of a contract with at least one government agency may result in significant losses. * Poor Tablets Performance.BlackBerry launched its PlayBook tablet in 2013 which did not produce the desired impact into the market. Such poor presence in the tablet market decreases company’s chance to successfully compete with Apple or Samsung who gains a significant amount of their profit from such tablets.
3.3 Opportunities * Increasing Tablets market. According to Forbes, the expected tablet market is set to surpass 1 billion sales in 2017. This is an excellent opportunity for BlackBerry to capitalize on and, in turn, capture larger market share. * Cloud based services. Many consumers opting to store date on Cloud-based storage services such as Apple’s i-Cloud and Google Drive. The market is expected to grow significantly until 2020 and reach a value of $240 billion. If BlackBerry wants to cement itself in this field it has to expand its cloud-based services and benefit from the growing demand.

3.4 Threats * Technological change. Although not a BlackBerry-only threat, the rapid technology change in this industry is frightening. Tech companies such as BlackBerry are under pressure to constantly release new and innovative products. If a company is unable to keep up to date with such developments it is likely to suffer greatly. * Market SaturationA vast majority of the population in developed countries own a smart device. Such market saturation inhibits BlackBerry from further expanding its market shares in these countries. * Increased competition – The mobile smart industry is constantly changing and a greater number of companies are entering the market. Especially Chinese developers such as Huawei and OnePlus, who are delivering impeccable phones. * Government competition- As mentioned BlackBerry is in alliance with many governments by providing security network services. However, BlackBerry has to now compete with many other players who are entering this realm such as Samsung and Apples. In fact, BlackBerry has already lost out to Samsung who are now working with the US government.

4.0 External Analysis 4.1 Political Analysis