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The Future of RIMM
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The company could be saved, but not by these clowns.
I don’t agree that RIM can be saved. They’re on the right path, but that path was trodden on long ago by the likes of iOS and Android. It’s far too late to be successful following Apple in mobile. A new path must be taken that breaks new ground and for RIM to be capable of doing that, they’d have to be a totally different company.
[ Edited: 05 August 2011 11:53 PM by FalKirk ] -
Gregg Thurman
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not by these clowns.
they’d have to be a totally different company.
Get rid of the clowns and they have a chance, albeit a slim one. HP has the resources to play the long view game (5 years?), as does MSFT (will acquire NOK for brand). RIMM does not.Android’s legal problems will cause it to fade away rapidly. Manufacturer’s will opt for Win 7 Mobile or WebOS (if the latter is offered as a licensed OS). What else is there?
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Google could buy them for patents. Rename the company to GRIMM?
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capablanca
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The company could be saved, but not by these clowns.
I don’t agree that RIM can be saved. They’re on the right path, but that path was trodden on long ago by the likes of iOS and Android. It’s far late to be successful following Apple in mobile. A new path must be taken that breaks new ground and for RIM to be capable of doing that, they’d have to be a totally different company.
A decade ago, Apple became a totally different company (using your implied definition of the term).
As I stated, RIM cannot succeed by following Apple. They need a new strategy that focuses on a narrow market segment.
Note: I do not predict they will be saved, only that they can be.
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If one is convinced that Android is going to be terminally crippled by patent issues, and thinks that Google needs a platform to give away so as to ensure advertising space, then maybe there is something to “Google acquires RIM”?
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A decade ago, Apple became a totally different company (using your implied definition of the term).
As I stated, RIM cannot succeed by following Apple. They need a new strategy that focuses on a narrow market segment.
Note: I do not predict they will be saved, only that they can be.
Apple was a once in a lifetime occurrence. Apple is the exception that proves the rule.
I totally understand what you’re saying, I just disagree. You can change management, you can change strategy, you can change most everything, but it won’t work. What they had is no longer unique and what they’re building is unique but two to three years too late.
The only way to save RIM is for them to do something completely different from what everybody else is doing - like create an iPad or an iPhone or the original RIM smartphone. In other words, doing what everyone else is doing - no matter how well - will not work. The only way for RIM to remain viable is for them to come out with a disruptive product of their own.
[ Edited: 06 August 2011 12:38 AM by FalKirk ] -
One positive RIMM has going for it, but not for long, is the deep enterprise presence it built. I am sure many companies still have BES servers or even some BB in their environment still in use or getting some amount of attention.
The only company I can see capitalizing on this is HP or Dell as their business models will be able to take advantage of RIMM’s customer base without much retooling.
Although, if this does not happen quickly and the current RIMM leadership continues running the ship, this little foothold they have will become irrelevant as Apple is making a bigger presence every quarter in the enterprise through end user pull. -
?Research In Motion Ltd.?s tablet hopes were dealt another blow as Sprint Nextel Corp said it canceled plans to sell a version of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet on its speedier network,? Greg Bensinger reports for MarketWatch.
?The decision means the device hasn?t yet found any support from the three largest U.S. wireless carriers, which includes AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless,? Bensinger reports. ?Without their backing, RIM will have to bear the burden of sales and marketing support for the device, as well as application development.?
Ouch! Talk about adding insult to injury. How bad do thinks have to be to have Sprint turn you down?
Is it possible for a product to be deader than dead?
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The thing is RIM is one of those companies where if the CEOs were sacked, there’s actually a half-decent chance the stock price would spike.
Not gonna place a put side bet on RIMM just yet. But RIM the company has tremendous issues and the PlayBook just won’t be enough to solve them all.
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Thanks, Steve. -
The thing is RIM is one of those companies where if the CEOs were sacked, there’s actually a half-decent chance the stock price would spike.
Hmmm. Rim’s stock probably would go up if their CEO’s were sacked, but long term, I think the company is sunk. All the technology that made them so unique has been bypassed and the technology that they are trying to transition to will arrive far too late to save them.
I don’t care how good QNX is. If you arrive too late to the party, you’re just going to be another Zune or another Windows Phone 7.
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I don’t know if QNX is good or not. I doubt it’s better than iOS. I’m certain it can’t catch up to iOS in terms of mindshare and developer interest.
RIM will likely survive hanging on to a niche market (cheap texting phones), but their glory days are behind them.
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RIM will likely survive hanging on to a niche market (cheap texting phones), but their glory days are behind them.
I’m not sure that RIM can survive that way. Once you’re the big dog, it’s hard to survive a rapid descent. Rim’s not slowly fading. They’re crashing and burning.
I have no idea how this will pay out, but I suspect that RIM may eventually disappear in all but name sort of the way Palm did.
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RIM will likely survive hanging on to a niche market (cheap texting phones), but their glory days are behind them.
I’m not sure that RIM can survive that way. Once you’re the big dog, it’s hard to survive a rapid descent. Rim’s not slowly fading. They’re crashing and burning.
I have no idea how this will pay out, but I suspect that RIM may eventually disappear in all but name sort of the way Palm did.
Maybe. But RIM is much bigger than Palm ever was. There are some hyper-security conscious IT folks who will probably fight hard to keep their Blackberries. And there are still plenty of people who love those little bitty keyboards. Heck, some people still like to use typewriters. Niche.
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capablanca
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A decade ago, Apple became a totally different company (using your implied definition of the term).
As I stated, RIM cannot succeed by following Apple. They need a new strategy that focuses on a narrow market segment.
Note: I do not predict they will be saved, only that they can be.
Apple was a once in a lifetime occurrence. Apple is the exception that proves the rule.
I totally understand what you’re saying, I just disagree. You can change management, you can change strategy, you can change most everything, but it won’t work. What they had is no longer unique and what they’re building is unique but two to three years too late.
The only way to save RIM is for them to do something completely different from what everybody else is doing - like create an iPad or an iPhone or the original RIM smartphone. In other words, doing what everyone else is doing - no matter how well - will not work. The only way for RIM to remain viable is for them to come out with a disruptive product of their own.
I commend to you Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage and his Competitive Strategy.
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I commend to you Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage and his Competitive Strategy.
Thank you for the recommendations. I immediately looked them up on Amazon and read several reviews. Both books look intriguing to say the least.
