RIM executive Peter Devenyi says morale is high and the company will emerge stronger than ever, despite delays in BlackBerry 10, massive job cuts and tough financial numbers.
BlackBerry maker Research
In Motion has a message to deliver.
RIM has delayed the
release of BlackBerry 10, its save-the-company product; is poised to let go of
5,000 employees, reducing its staff by nearly a third; has hired advisers who
may suggest the company split into two, if not sell off an important component
of its brand; and on June 28
announced
quarterly losses of $518 million. Still, the Ontario-based company firmly
believes it will successfully emerge from this tough transition, said Peter
Devenyi, RIMs senior vice president of enterprise software.
Devenyi spoke with
eWEEK July 5, answering questions but
above all insisting that morale was high and the companys outlook bright. Days
earlier, CEO Thorsten Heins did the same
on
a Canadian radio program.
The
level of commitment that exists within this company, to see us through, is
strong and truly inspiring, Devenyi told
eWEEK.
As we see and talk to the employees ¦ there's tremendous confidence that
exists within RIM that we will succeed in getting through this transition.
Devenyi added that if one has to go through such a
transition, its nice to do so with $2 billion in cash, no debt and as the No.
1 smartphone brand in many countries around the world.
Given the delay of BlackBerry 10which Devenyi and Heins
have been quick to point out is not simply a new smartphone or operating system
upgrade, but an entirely new platformHeins has said that RIM is encouraging
enterprise customers, many of whom are still using BlackBerry 5 and 6 devices,
to upgrade to BlackBerry 7though these devices will not be upgradeable to
BlackBerry 10. Is such advice not sending them down a dead-end path?
Devenyi said that the Bold 9900 and other BlackBerry 7 devices
are fantastic devices.
The capabilities we bring with BlackBerry 7including
BlackBerry Balance in the BYOD [bring-your-own-device] market, including the
liquid graphics capabilities, the speed, the new browserit is a remarkable
advance over some of the older BlackBerry devices. ... As [enterprise
customers] see them and use them, it doesn't take much to get them to upgrade,
Devenyi added.
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