BlackBerry CEO Chen confirms BES is coming to Windows Phone
The other day we told you that the Managing Director of BlackBerry India, Sunil Lalvani, said that BES is going to be supporting Windows Phone. This was actually rumored as far back as last September. The Enterprise Server currently supports BlackBerry, iOS and Android. On Monday, BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed that BES will soon work with smartphones running on Microsoft's mobile OS.
The Canadian OEM offers the service to corporations and government agencies that need to control a fleet of smartphones. BES allows IT departments to hook up employees' personal devices to the firm's email system, or wipe data from a stolen or lost phone. It can also control a phone's camera to make sure it is not operational during business hours. While BES is one part of BlackBerry that is still making money, Chen says that the service is not growing and has actually lost users since the retirement of BlackBerry 7 OS. The executive says that he wants to add "features and functionality" in order to spur growth.
Now, the question is whether BlackBerry will add BBM for Windows Phone. Already available for iOS and Android, BBM is expected to be monetized this year, most likely with the BlackBerry Channels discussion groups. BlackBerry is hoping to charge corporations to start channels to reach BBM users. And considering that more eyeballs would mean more money for the company, it would make sense for BlackBerry to eventually release the messaging app for Windows Phone users.
source: Crackberry via WPCentral
"I could put a sales team on Wall Street. I know how to do this up and down Wall Street … we will go in and tell them why BES is the best thing for them, and go through the road map, the offerings, and all that good stuff. We're going to protect their investment in iPhone, and Android, and everywhere else, even with Windows Phones...you could be an iPhone customer, and also a BlackBerry customer.You could be an Android customer, and also a BlackBerry customer. It's not mutually exclusive. I think that's an important key message of the company going forward."-John Chen, CEO, BlackBerry
Now, the question is whether BlackBerry will add BBM for Windows Phone. Already available for iOS and Android, BBM is expected to be monetized this year, most likely with the BlackBerry Channels discussion groups. BlackBerry is hoping to charge corporations to start channels to reach BBM users. And considering that more eyeballs would mean more money for the company, it would make sense for BlackBerry to eventually release the messaging app for Windows Phone users.
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