After making the switch from hardware to software, Blackberry is taking its first major step in the enterprise department. The company has today announced the launch of BBM Enterprise SDK to provide developers with its ultra-secure messaging and file sharing technology. This software kit will enable them to integrate BBM’s services into third party apps, starting this month.
The Canadian hardware maker, once known for its smartphone innovations, now plans to provide developers with the capabilities to build secure messaging, video or voice calling, encrypted file sharing, and other necessary communication features into other third-party apps. It is also not restricted to 1-on-1 or group messaging or calling features.
Also, BlackBery has advertised a cohort of features currently not available across most messaging apps. BBM enterprise SDK provides users and developers with capabilities like message quoting, editing and deletion. These can be integrated into any third-party app and users can be granted complete control over their texts. The software kit also provides tools to build push notifications, secure location or data sharing options into the app.
Talking about the launch of this developer kit, Marty Beard, Chief Operating Officer at BlackBerry says,
We are constantly innovating and looking for ways to leverage our legacy and expertise in secure mobility to solve real business problems. We are opening up a new revenue stream for the company with a fully cloud-based communication service that is designed to help developers, ISVs, and enterprises meet the most demanding security and compliance requirements.
Further, BlackBerry considers this as an opportune situation for them to advertise their reputation for building secure solutions. The said kit is also built upon the same standards, with the aim to ensure optimal performance, flexibility and scalability. This SDK also gives developers a robust medium to focus on other aspects of their enterprise products, instead of building a secure messaging feature.
The company is now open to license partnership and is, thus, providing developers with the option to utilize their cloud-based model and cut operational costs. This, however, also adds moolah to the BlackBerry’s pockets as they’ve introduced the software kit as an alternative (soon to become primary) revenue source. With real-time communication becoming a norm with enterprises, BlackBerry has chosen the perfect time to step foot into the market. It will now compete against the likes of Twilio, Bandwidth, and others.
In addition, if you’ve been wondering about the fate of BlackBerry mobile devices then you needn’t worry as you will still be able to purchase them. The company instead of relying on in-house designing and manufacturing for their devices has now decided to outsource the process to other hardware manufacturers. It has already signed license agreement deals with TCL and Delhi-based Optiemus to continue to cater to the needs of enterprise customers. So, you will still be able to purchase an Android-powered keyboard smartphone. Woohoo!
