By Lorien Crow | Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:11 pm |
Research In Motion's new CEO won't make any "seismic changes" to its overall strategy as the company works to rebound, but questions about its outdated products and OS still linger.
Thorsten Heins, appointed to replace former co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who stepped down Sunday, is already searching for a new chief marketing officer to boost RIM's profile as it strives to compete with popular rivals such as Apple and Samsung.Heins, who joined RIM in 2007, was promoted to CEO from his position as the company's chief operating officer for software, hardware and sales. He faces an uphill battle to repair RIM's reputation and reinstate BlackBerry as a major competitor in the U.S. smartphone market after a year of setbacks. While the new CEO doesn't plan major strategic changes, he said will consider licensing BlackBerry 10 to other interested manufacturers, boosting RIM as a software maker based on its security and communication credentials. "I will not in any way split this up or separate this into different businesses," Heins said. "If there are requests coming towards Research In Motion to talk about licensing that platform to other companies, I will entertain those discussions. I will listen." Heins' focus on marketing and BlackBerry 10 may help the company keep its head afloat, but RIM has much deeper issues to address in order to remain a viable long-term competitor in a mobile market dominated by app-centered touchscreen devices. RIM's U.S. market share dipped to less than 10 percent in 2011 due to its disappointing PlayBook tablet and lack of innovative new hardware. Long without a major new product release for much of 2011, the company must develop products that excite carriers and consumers, as well as develop a strong app market for them. RIM attempted to modernize itself with models like the Torch, but lukewarm response indicates its OS and apps still have great distances to travel to engage consumers. Heins' openness to make the BlackBerry OS available to other phone makers may intrigue the industry, but overall RIM likely faces difficulty in a sector largely dominated by iOS and Android. Other platforms like WebOS attempted to eke out a place for themselves but found it difficult to compete against Apple and Google, and other contenders like Windows Phone will gain steam in 2012. The market is full of formidable competitors, and RIM will likely find it difficult to compete. Though it can tout its core strengths in security and messaging, the BlackBerry platform still suffers from a paucity of apps, and device makers will likely stick with the wealth of software and open-source nature of Android as a result. The road back to success is a long one for the once-dominant RIM, and minor changes may not be enough to save BlackBerry. The company has long faced criticism for its refusal to diversify its product line, its inability to inspire app developers and its overreliance on the business market. RIM likely needs a major reinvention to keep it a viable force in the mobile market, and Heins' comments fail to address the central issues that plague the company. Heins, however remains hopeful and focused on the future. "It's going to be continuity," he says, "but it's not going to be a standstill."
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