While BlackBerry remains a popular consumer choice in South Africa, RIM’s smartphones may be facing an uncertain future as businesses-preferred devices at local companies.

In recent months, businesses in the developed world have been seen dropping RIM’s BlackBerry devices in favour of Android or iPhone counterparts, with the latest being Australia’s Qantas airlines.

Despite what the rest of the world is doing, the situation looks far better for RIM in South Africa. BlackBerry smartphones continue to dominate the local smartphone market, and this growth is likely to continue.

“The South African market is among several that are anomalies in the trend away from BlackBerry,” said World Wide Worx CEO, Arthur Goldstuck.

“Particularly in the developing world, both BES and BIS are seen as offering tremendous value in environments where data costs are high and data security is an issue. BlackBerry still ticks both of those boxes better than any other handset, and there are still many companies that will only issue BlackBerry.”

However, despite the success BlackBerry enjoys in the South African market, both Goldstuck and Frost & Sullivan consulting manager for ICT in Africa, Ian Duvenage believe that the embattled RIM faces challenges winning businesses over as Android and iPhone devices increasingly eat up market share.

Functionality vs. Utility

“BlackBerry faces an uphill battle to convince those companies where executives have bought into Android or iOS. The issue there is that the companies are looking for advanced functionality while BlackBerry is only offering them utility,” said Goldstuck.

Duvenage, too, acknowledges the appeal of BlackBerry devices to businesses, highlighting the security and control the platform gives companies – all at an appealing price-point. However, he points out that competing platforms like Android and Apple’s iOS are starting to catch up in the market RIM once pioneered.

BlackBerry devices gained popularity in businesses for their ability to send and receive email and instant messages while maintaining a high level of security – however, many years after the first BlackBerry touched down, these concepts are now a staple in a smartphone’s offering.

As competing platforms become more business-savvy and open up for broader app development – coupled with mobile operators offering more appealing smartphone data packages – BlackBerry will likely find itself in a tough position winning corporates over.

Battle of perception

However, Duvenage believes that there’s perhaps a bigger trend at play, determining a company’s course of smartphone preference.

“There’s a drive to keep employees constantly productive,” said Duvenage, “[and] ‘bring-your-own-device’ is a macro trend. There’s a move away from single-device environments.”

Businesses that adopt “bring your own device” encourage employees to use their own smart devices (phones, tablets) as opposed to issuing a company-specific brand. As Duvenage points out, influence, then, comes “from the hallways” of the company.

Qantas Airlines’ decision to drop BlackBerry for the iPhone, was as a result of an employee vote – not an executive-driven decision. Non-uniform device issuing means employees look to each other – and trends – to determine which devices they buy into.

Arthur Goldstuck also reflected on the impact of perception: “For younger executives, where image matters, the need has gone far beyond that [of Utility]; utility is regarded as dull and boring, while cutting-edge functionality represents self-actualisation.”

“You can’t fight that kind of perception war by keeping the market waiting for evidence that you are catching up.”

What does the future hold?



With its international woes, declining global market share – and losing around 80% of the company’s value over the past year – RIM’s continued success in South Africa will ultimately hinge on how the company handles its movements and developments internationally.

“[Businesses] that are considering moving away [from BlackBerry] because of the woes of RIM and the delay in rolling out OS10 will only be convinced by a greater sense of urgency from RIM and a speedier road to delivery of the new OS and handsets,” said Goldstuck.

“Those that appreciate the significance of BES in both cost and security management will stay with BlackBerry, for now.”

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