Do you remember when BlackBerry was the biggest name out there for smartphones? With revolutionary technology giving you the ability to check your email from your phone and have a whole keyboard to type with, BlackBerry was the best thing for a long time. And on top of it, the company had the best encryption software available. It is amazing to see how fast a company on top can fall. BlackBerry works commercially right now but would like to eventually sneak back into the consumer market. It may take a while though.

Always what you got from BlackBerry

The reason why BlackBerry was so popular among businesses was because it was so private and well-secured. Any business with information that needed to get protected would get BlackBerry. But as soon as iPhone caught up to the same security and encryption features, businesses started dropping BlackBerry left and right. Though BlackBerry only works with businesses now and markets itself as a more serious phone than the iPhone and competitors, it still struggles to maintain its business, let alone grow or get new customers.

Coming back to consumers

BlackBerry attempted to work with the consumer market for a minute, but it led to about $1 billion in losses, according to Business Week. The company was not ready and really had nothing new to offer in a smartphone. So, for now, the company is going to stick with what they know. Though there are many projects for the future that are working on possibly reaching back out to the consumer market, BlackBerry thinks it is best to focus on regaining profits before it attempts anything that could cost the company money again.

Should your company use BlackBerry?

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter what phone you choose for your business because you can run the Business Texter app through any of them. In fact, you can even have a landline set up with a screen to run the app if you don’t want your employees using smartphones in the office. However, it is usually best for everyone in your company to be on the same phone if you can. Compatibility between phone manufacturers is not very good, which makes sense since they are hoping you’ll stick with one brand. It is easier to keep everyone compatible if they are simply on the same phone. The only real advantage you will have with a BlackBerry over an iPhone is that security is a little better since there are people out there constantly trying to hack iPhones, whereas a lot of hackers don’t think it is worth hacking the BlackBerry anymore. But if that doesn’t matter, you might just want to take a company vote!

The other option is to go with Android, which is a good option because it allows for compatability among phones without having to make every have the exact same phone. Then, your employees feel like they get a say in what kind of phone they buy, even though they are restricted to Android. But your Apple-loving employees might throw a fit, so just do what is best for everyone.

Source: businessweek.com/news/2014-09-26/blackberry-ceo-says-he-d-like-to-return-to-consumer-market