BlackBerry (BBRY) Faces Biggest Challenger in Corporate Yet: Samsung
With BlackBerry (Nadaq: BBRY) still controlling lots of corporate accounts, but reeling a little since its BB10 operating system was delayed for over a year, Samsung may just have found its new target.
The company is wining and dining execs like chief information officers and government agencies, saying its wares are just as secure as those from BlackBerry. The company even ran ads during NFL playoffs that were aimed at BlackBerry.
According to the WSJ, Samsung hierarchy has made enterprise sales a "top three priority" at the South Korean company.
Recent wins include AMR Corp's (OTCBB: AAMRQ) American Airlines, Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), and Waste Management (NYSE: WM).
IDC data shows that about 16 percent of smartphones shipped to corporate clients in 2012 were Samsung, with 50 percent being Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone. BlackBerry shipped to just 10 percent of the market. But, BlackBerry still has a large and established corporate network, despite the lighter shipments.
Something going against Samsung is Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android operating system. Complaints include security challenges with the OS and bugs in the apps. The two have kept many corporate purchasers away.
Samsung hopes to break through security concern by offering its own software in SAFE, meaning "Samsung for Enterprise." The company also has hired former BlackBerry executives as well as tech gurus from academia and security firms.
Whether or not all of these improvements will coax corporations and governments over to Samsung's team will be a question needing more time to develop. One thing is for sure, BlackBerry is more vulnerable than ever to losing accounts, now that competitors see what the Waterloo, Ontario-based company is bringing to the table.
Shares of BlackBerry are down over 2 percent Friday.