[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

To learn more about what BlackBerry has to offer in the government industry, head over to www.upgrademyagency.com. Stay tuned here on the BlackBerry for Business blog as we provide BlackBerry Live updates in real time over the week.

Ricoh Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Ricoh Americas Corporation, is a document management and services provider with over 2,000 employees. A significant part of Ricoh’s business involves IT services, in which they support 45 locations across Canada providing infrastructure support for mobility, hardware and software, and management of BlackBerry smartphones.

Being involved in IT, having a history of partnering with BlackBerry, and having just developed a field services app, Ricoh spent some time considering BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. We caught up with Andy Ambrozic, Ricoh Canada’s Director of Infrastructure and Operations, to get his thoughts:

Hi Andy, thanks for joining us. We hear that you’re a big fan of all-touch devices. How you think the BlackBerry 10 touch screen and other features stack up?

Ambrozic: I loved the touch screen on the BlackBerry 10 device. It’s fluid to use and the predictive typing is really good. After a while you feel like it’s adapting to you and thinking for you. The device has a totally different look and feel, with some excellent advances. The size is just right as well. The larger screen is easier to use for viewing different kinds of media.

The BlackBerry Hub experience is also very good. I call it “sneak peeks” because if you’re in one screen and you’re watching a video, you can swipe slowly and get a quick look at new messages or social media updates on the BlackBerry Hub screen. It’s a true multitasking experience.

How do you think BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 supports both user and corporate needs?

The BlackBerry Balance technology that’s a part of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 has the potential to be huge. Full work and personal separation on BlackBerry smartphones will make it easier for our users, but also much easier for IT administrators.

We’re also in the midst of finalizing a BYOD policy. A big issue for our users and our organization is we want to be sure personal data is kept separate from work information. Data integrity has always been paramount for Ricoh IT, so the ability to achieve that is a tremendous plus for the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 platform. BlackBerry Balance enables that separation so seamlessly.

How much has using BlackBerry solutions benefitted Ricoh Canada so far and where are you planning to go with your deployment now that you have BlackBerry 10?

There are a lot of benefits that come to mind as I look back over the past 10+ years of using BlackBerry solutions. There’s peace of mind with the security. The devices have always had a high degree of ruggedness and reliability. But mostly I look at how far we’ve evolved from paging devices to email to app driven devices. In recent times, BlackBerry smartphones have pointed to the need to develop apps that help extend our internal processes out to the field.

We’ve just developed our own Field Service Automation app on existing BlackBerry smartphones. We’ve tried it on BlackBerry 10 devices and it worked really well. We definitely plan to deploy our app on the new devices. The app gives our field technicians the ability to manage the entire service call from their devices – from dispatch information to GPS navigation, inventory, time spent on a job and so on. All the job information is then sent back to our ERP system so we have an up-to-date record of the entire service call.

How inspired are you to develop apps for BlackBerry 10 devices?

BlackBerry 10 opens up all sorts of possibilities. If you look at the design, the speed, web and browser evolution, the engine and the application development language, I think it’s going to be a lot easier to build and port apps with BlackBerry 10. We’re now looking at developing a number of apps for our mobile users. For example, we may add a bar code reader to our Field Service Automation app on BlackBerry 10 devices so our technicians can read part numbers without having to input them by hand.

Does your business have a BlackBerry app that you’re planning to migrate to the BlackBerry 10 platform? Share in the comments below.

Just prior to the launch of BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, Stephen Perciballi (@irondack) of Softchoice joined us here on the BlackBerry campus. As part of the BlackBerry Technical Preview program, Softchoice had the chance to get early access to BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. We caught up with Stephen to get his thoughts on the experience. Check out the interview below for the full scoop!

Thanks for joining us today Stephen. Can you tell me about your role at Softchoice?

I’m the Practice Lead for Security at Softchoice, and mobility falls into the security practice – so we manage any security vendor and then all of the mobility centric vendors as well. We resell BlackBerry products and services, including deployments, integration services, and more.

Softchoice recently joined our BlackBerry Technical Preview program – can you share your experience setting up BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10?

So far the feedback that we got from IT was that the deployment of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 was extremely straightforward, and we know for a fact that it wasn’t very time consuming, so that was a great start. We did have the assistance of a BlackBerry engineer over the phone, but the whole thing only took a couple of hours and that’s including knowledge transfer. Once it was set up we were immediately able to begin provisioning devices.

Why get on board and why deploy BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10? Are you expecting to manage BlackBerry 10 devices and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets moving forward at Softchoice?

Absolutely. Our executives are actually all very big BlackBerry fans, and we anticipate that they’re going to want to continue to get the latest and greatest device. A lot of that trickles down, so we have a lot of devout BlackBerry users.

Are you seeing anticipation from Softchoice customers that you get setup with BlackBerry solutions?

I can tell you that my team is very customer focused, so while we manage the business, our real job is to help customers find the right solution. Every time you guys [BlackBerry] make an announcement, all of the competition comes to a halt. We can see it statistically; we actually categorize and classify our customer meetings to track the topics.

Before the announcement of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 there was a high volume of calls and meetings around “what should we do about mobile device management?” The word is now getting out and those calls and even requests for quotes from BlackBerry competitors have plummeted. I’d put it this way: counting BlackBerry out is like not drinking water because soda has more flavor. It’s absolutely ridiculous. BlackBerry is a force in mobility, and with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and gatekeeper for ActiveSync… That’s a game changer. Customers have existing relationships with BlackBerry, and so a simple upgrade that allows them to manage other mobile devices if they need to is a very compelling story.

Many customers that we talk to have been confused. There’s a lot of confusion out there and there are a lot of people trying to capitalize on the confusion, but it’s not really working. Customers have been waiting to execute on their mobility strategy, and they’re now able to do so with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. Doing an upgrade is a lot easier than firing up a new unknown solution.

How has your experience been with BlackBerry 10?

So far so good! Immediate reactions are similar for most people – it’s that traditional feeling that you get from most BlackBerry devices, that the hardware is beautiful. There’s really no question there. You pick it up and you think “Wow! It’s solid, it’s pretty, and I want it”. Just like it always has been. We use the story all the time with customers on the topic of BYOD: every time the new BlackBerry would come out, 35% of my fleet would be lost, damaged, or stolen because they want the new one so badly [laughs]. The same thing goes for this device.

My favorite feature is the ability to minimize apps with a gesture, swiping up from the bottom. I’ve been using other mobile platforms for years, and now I find myself trying that swipe up gesture on other platforms because it’s so intuitive and it’s so handy. I just can’t shake it. That’s definitely one of my favorites.

I do like how when you minimize apps they stay as these active frames. It’s nice to have a couple of things on that screen. I’m obsessed with knowing where my battery is at, and I’m obsessed with knowing what the weather is like, so having that is really great.

The Hub is very interesting for sure, having it built right into the device is incredible. Other platforms have an app that integrates a variety of accounts… But it’s kind of hokey and not everything looks the same. You still have to start an app, which is the fundamental difference. With Hub it’s a simple gesture that just takes you to where everything is. If you want to focus on your personal email for example, you can really narrow it down.

The web browser is very strong. In the beta program we didn’t have full access to all of the apps in BlackBerry World since it was pre-launch, and so there are a lot of things that I’ve been doing just in the browser. Everything that I do with my other platforms, I’m actually doing on BlackBerry 10, without apps, and just using the web browser. So far that’s been just as good.

Are you familiar with BlackBerry Balance? What’s your feedback as a mobility professional?

Balance is definitely something that customers are asking for more and more. Two years ago people would ask vaguely for MDM capabilities without knowing what they were asking for. Now, most people have a good idea that basic MDM solutions exist in general, but more so customers are now asking for containerization.

[Customers say,] “We want to be able to segregate work data and personal data so that we can be a little bit more granular. Maybe we can do a proper partial wipe where we really know for sure that the work data is safe.” Things like partial wipes have been available in a lot of MDM solutions, but there’s been nothing to prevent a user from mixing that data up, and as an administrator you would have no visibility into that. It’s simpler administration. Instead of securing and managing the entire device, we’re able to put the work stuff into the work area and we’ll secure and manage that. We couldn’t care less about other email accounts on the device. That level of flexibility is going to be very attractive to a lot of organizations for sure.

Where do you see the partnership between BlackBerry and Softchoice going in the future?

With BlackBerry we think at this point that things are actually going to take off. We’re very enthusiastic about the BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 launch. We now have the features that customers are looking for; the single management console to manage all platforms, and the gatekeeper feature – that was something we were really waiting for. We can know that no one is connecting to our infrastructure without going through BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

BlackBerry 10 devices are devices that consumers are going to like; it’s a slick interface, it’s easy to use, it’s a sexy handset, and you’ve also got things like the camera app with time shift. It’s huge. Features like that will really attract more customers, as well as the video editing functionality. That’s how people communicate today. High definition and editing on a single device is really driving towards that convergence of client computing that people are looking for. There are a lot of cool devices, but to have all of this functionality in a single device is really great.

I’d love nothing more than to just have a single phone that I can carry around and use as my primary computing device. Having the ability to do a lot of that on BlackBerry 10 is very attractive to a lot of people.

Thanks for your time Stephen!

Throughout 2013, the BlackBerry For Business Blog will be featuring a monthly “BlackBerry Business Elite” member who has been an integral member of our BlackBerry For Business social community. Each member of our elite program has been an active contributor on our @BlackBerry4Biz Twitter account, BlackBerry For Business LinkedIn group and an influential member of our online community.

To read more about our first featured BlackBerry Business Elite member, Cameron Stevens – check out his interview below!

Name: Cameron Stevens
Occupation: Technical Resource for support and automation
Twitter Account: @CharlieSierra24

1. Tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m a technology nut, I love working with technology, and always have. My first PC was an IBM PCjr. A few weeks after receiving it I released my first program, a math tutor of sorts written in BASIC. I stuck with technology through high-school and circumvented college almost completely aside from two night school courses that proved redundant in BASIC programming and Local Area Networking. I excelled at proving my value without a formal education and have been a good friend of technology ever since.

2. Why are you a #TeamBlackBerry fan?

I joined #TeamBlackBerry for two reasons, two fundamental features of any technology that will always win me over, reliability and toughness. Technology should be built to last and endure the real world’s demands. My first BlackBerry, an 8900, did very well in those respects and no BlackBerry has let me down yet. Oh, and one more thing…patriotism. As a Canadian, I am very happy to support the brand.

3. What’s your favorite BlackBerry app?

I hate to sound cliché but I can’t really pick just one app that’s my favourite, though BBM communication is very essential to me. I also value apps that allow me to bank or provide remote support.

4. How do you use your BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for work?

My PlayBook along with Evernote keeps my notes around tasks and projects, and a well written RDP application that has made my PlayBook a valuable support tool.

5. What picture is your current BlackBerry wallpaper, and why?

My BlackBerry wallpaper is the great hall of BCE Place in downtown Toronto – I was there a few days ago en route to an interview. Since it was first built, BCE Place has been one of my favourite architectural works.

6. What’s your favourite BlackBerry smartphone model, and why?

My current device is the BlackBerry Bold 9790, but if I were in the market right now I might consider the 9900. Though the devices are similar, the BlackBerry 9900′s larger format may be just a little better, but the difference is negligible. I’m a keyboard guy.

7. If a friend were in the market for a new smartphone and/or tablet, what would you say to convince them to join the BlackBerry family?

I am often asked to defend my choice of a BlackBerry as my recommendation, and while durability and low data usage are key points, the reality is that it has everything that you need to communicate reliably – right out of the box. I would also tell my friends and family about BBM 7′s voice chat over WiFi – that’s a real win!

8. What are the “Top 5” things you keep in your purse/briefcase/backpack at all times?

My backpack will ALWAYS have my PlayBook, AC charger for the PlayBook, a bootable Linux USB key (for security and data recovery), $20 (just-in-case), and a travel router.

9. What are some of your favourite blogs and websites that you visit often?

I’m less of a blog follower than a news follower but I’m a fan of quirky.com, kickstarter.com, sync.ca, nationalpost.ca, and follow a host of people on Twitter to feed my technology appetite.

10. Any interesting facts people would be surprised to know about you?

I prefer to have a beard, and wear my Tilley Hat. I have two Tilley hats, one is for more formal occasions and looks less worn. I’m also older than I look, it seems.

Thanks for joining us Cameron!

We once again had the privilege of connecting with Gregg Ostrowski, Senior Director of Enterprise Partnerships at RIM®, to get his thoughts on why the Enterprise Jam events resonate with attendees. Throughout the interview, Gregg discusses RIM’s vision for the BlackBerry App World™ storefront, as well as RIM’s commitment to providing tools and resources to the enterprise development community.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

According to Gregg, “When an enterprise developer is building an app, they typically don’t want their app stored in a place that can be accessed by the public. To address that specific requirement, we’ve enabled a simple user-interface [in BlackBerry App World] that Enterprise developers can use to host not only public apps, but also unique Enterprise apps that they have built for their business – all housed behind their corporate firewall.”

Are you an enterprise developer interested in building BlackBerry apps for your business? If so, let us know by commenting below. We will be sure to connect you to the right people inside RIM and resources you need to make this happen!

When I’ve got questions, challenges, or thoughts about security, I’m lucky to be just a phone call away from Michael K. Brown, the VP of Security Product Management & Research at Research In Motion (RIM). Earlier this month, as we hopped around the globe hosting the BlackBerry® 10 Jam World Tour – Enterprise Edition events, a few questions came up about mobile applications for enterprise and concerns around security – so sure enough, I gave Mike a ring. Check out our chat below:

Hi Michael, thanks for joining me today! In your opinion, to what degree should security be a concern when developers work on creating business apps?

Security is key because it actually enables you to be confident in working with corporate data. When you know that you can rely upon the way data is sent to and from the mobile device and how the data is stored on it, you can let the application access more, process more, and be more powerful in its benefits for a business. So if you choose a platform that is taking care of many of the base security threats, then you’re free to build an even more powerful application.

Will BlackBerry® continue to lead in the area of mobile data security with the upcoming BlackBerry® 10 platform?

From the very beginning, security has been a pillar of how we design and build our enterprise solution, from the handhelds, to the operating system, to the applications. Over the past decade, this has evolved – from our first Mobile Device Management (MDM) controls to let administrators manage the new thing called “mobile”, to more advanced technologies like process separation, stack cookies, and ASLR. We’re very excited to keep pushing the envelope with BlackBerry 10 and do even more! BlackBerry® Balance™ technology is a great example of that continued emphasis on security, and creating a great user experience along with it.

How is the BlackBerry platform unique in helping enterprise developers create secure business applications?

We approach security as key aspect of the entire platform. This end-to-end view makes creating secure business applications that much easier. With BlackBerry transport encryption and MDS-CS, we give the developer an efficient, always-on, encrypted connection to the application back end in the enterprise. With data at rest encryption and strong cryptographic APIs, we give the developer native methods to protect data stored locally on the device. With the upcoming BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 and BlackBerry App World™ for Work, developers know that the administrator can easily push an application to all appropriate users. In our developer documentation, we give developers tips on how to write secure code within the Native SDK. And with our emphasis on Security Certifications, the developer knows that they can focus on selling the virtues of their app to the customer, and not have to worry about convincing the customer on the security of the platform.

Do you see BYOD as a threat to the security of enterprise data? How can this be handled?

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) provides a great opportunity for an enterprise in that it helps push the benefits of mobility to its user base. The challenge is in enabling employee choice without compromising the security of corporate data and driving up support costs through complexity of administration. Through BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion and the upcoming BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, administrators can manage the complexity of the entire mobile deployment – BlackBerry smartphones, BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets, iOS®, and Android™ – through a single console. And with BlackBerry Balance technology, they can provide BlackBerry device users with a best of both worlds in a BYOD solution – strong separation of personal and corporate data but a unified experience for the employee on a single device.

In your involvement with security research, can you highlight any interesting and relevant trends that you’re seeing in terms of security and enterprise apps?

The joy of focusing on the field of security is that it is constantly changing and evolving. We have the merging of traditional desktop computer threats along with the new threats from the more uniquely mobile arena, such as location-based services and cellular radios. An interesting trend right now is around NFC usage. Most often NFC is considered as a credit or debit card replacement, but where it is also coming up is in Physical Access Control – for example, the work we have been doing with HID. Using my BlackBerry smartphone to open a door is hugely powerful, especially since that means you can remotely manage my access card!

Thanks again for the insights, Mike!

Do you have questions about security and business apps? Share in the comments below.

We’re delighted to be sponsoring the 2012 SMB Influencer program yet again, and this year’s Awards Gala is in full swing here in New York City. Influencers and members of the SMB community have come from far and wide to honor their peers and take part in the awards ceremony. Research In Motion® (RIM®) is a huge supporter of small and medium-sized businesses around the world, with smartphones and mobile device management solutions that are affordable and scalable. Over the years we’ve heard some amazing success stories of businesses that have used BlackBerry® solutions to help grow, expand, and communicate with customers and stakeholders.

I’ve managed to catch up with RIM Sr. Director for Enterprise Accounts Bryan Lee here at the event to chat about RIM’s commitment to the SMB community, Bryan’s role and impact at RIM, and the SMB Influencer program. Check it out below for the full scoop!

Biz Blog: Hi Bryan – tell me about what you do at RIM

I have the great pleasure of leading our U.S. enterprise sales division, which includes support for both large enterprises and small to medium-sized customers. In addition, I work closely with our VAR community who sell and support the BlackBerry solution.

Biz Blog: How has RIM been involved in SMB communities around the world?

Being connected, keeping your ideas and information secure, and engaging in real-time communication with your customers is crucial for starting and growing a business. These are areas that we focus on and work to constantly improve. Being reliably connected to everyone that you need to be connected with, and having access to all of the information that you need, really enables success. You know, as we’ve designed our business product roadmap and launched business solutions over the past 10 years, we’ve had SMB’s in mind with products like BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express, BlackBerry Business® Cloud Services, and the upcoming BlackBerry® 10 platform. We love the passion and dedication that this community embodies, and we love to support them.

Biz Blog: We’re all very excited about BlackBerry 10. How will this new platform enable small and medium-sized businesses and business owners?

The flow of BlackBerry 10 will enable new levels of productivity – we’ve had some sneak peeks of this at BlackBerry World™ and the recent BlackBerry® Jam Americas event in San Jose. The platform has been designed for rapid and functional interaction to help you get things done quickly and efficiently, staying on top of the many tasks and communications that you engage in on a daily basis. BlackBerry Hub, for example, lets you access all of the information that you need at a glance, and the people view in the calendar shows you who you’re meeting with and collects all the information you have about that particular person without having to jump between different applications. Integration with services that small businesses use is a major aspect, like Box being built right into the OS along with other cloud storage providers.

Ease of setup and implementation is also an important point for small businesses. ActiveSync® connectivity is available right out of the box, providing a free option for connecting the devices to your work mail server. For more robust device and application management, security, and BlackBerry Balance™, BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 will be available at launch. We’ve even enhanced the process for getting work mail, calendar, and contacts set up from a user experience perspective, which we shared at BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012.

Biz Blog: Why are programs like the 2012 SMB Influencer initiative important?

Providing solutions for small and medium sized businesses is a good thing, but it’s also important to get out there and meet with the members of the community. It’s a real pleasure to do that and get to discuss challenges and solutions that are faced every day. We’re also here to honor the top 100 influencers; it’s fantastic to see the impact that many of these individuals and organizations have had.

Biz Blog: Any final thoughts for the SMB community?

Stay tuned for more details on BlackBerry 10; we’re very excited to share this with you and show you how it can help in your business. There will be more sneak peeks ahead of the launch in Q1 2013, so be sure to visit the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog. Lastly, a big “congratulations” to each of the top 100 SMB influencer champions!

Biz Blog: Thanks for joining us, Bryan!

Stay tuned for more coverage of the SMB Influencer Awards Gala, and more details about BlackBerry 10. How have BlackBerry solutions or products helped you grow and operate your small or medium-sized business? We love to hear your stories – share in the comments below!

BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0, having made its debut at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, recently joined the family of FIPS 140-2 certified BlackBerry solutions. Along with it, BlackBerry® Device Service, a component of BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion, is now also FIPS 140-2 certified. This is an important certification and a U.S. government computer security standard; many organizations and governments have FIPS 140-2 certification as a requirement for use within their networks.

Why does FIPS 140-2 certification matter?

Good question! Certifications in general, and this one in particular, are an indication not only of security and reliability, but also of a process in which independent third parties have provided validation. Beyond government, industries like health care and finance also trust in FIPS 140-2 certifications, as both involve the storing of personal and sensitive information.

Hearing from the Business Analyst community

Today we’ve caught up with Eugene Signorini, Senior Vice President of the Yankee Group’s research team, to chat about these recent certifications of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 and BlackBerry Device Service. Check out the interview below:

[Biz Blog]: Thanks for joining us today! Why don’t you share a bit of info on your experience and what you focus on in your work?

[Eugene Signorini]: I currently lead Yankee Group’s research team, which is 100% focused on mobility trends and issues. Personally, I focus on enterprise mobility, which includes mobile applications, mobility management, mobile device & OS issues for business, mobile payments, and mobile security. I co-founded Yankee Group’s enterprise mobility research practice in 2002 and have been focused on the topic for more than 10 years.

[Biz Blog]: What is the general significance of certifications like FIPS 140-2? Who does this apply to?

Certifications such as FIPS 140-2 provide an important benchmark for organizations when evaluating security credentials for certain devices and solutions. Essentially, for companies with the most stringent standards for security – whether those are for regulatory or compliance issues, or just standard company practice – benefit from these certifications because it removes uncertainty when approving vendors or suppliers. Knowing something is FIPS certified essentially provides a gold standard, a seal of approval for IT and security organizations. This level of security especially applies to government agencies, financial services firms, and health care, where regulatory and compliance standards are rigid, and require the highest levels of data and information protection.

[Biz Blog]: Is security still an important consideration concerning mobile devices?

Security remains top of mind for IT leaders when it comes to implementing mobility solutions. Yankee Group’s June 2012 Enterprise Mobility IT Decision Maker Survey reveals that security remains the number one obstacle for companies in supporting mobile workers. And mobile security ranks third among all IT priorities across the organization, coming behind only cloud-based services and mobile applications.

[Biz Blog]: What are some of the most prominent security challenges facing businesses today, and how are they reacting?

Most companies are increasingly concerned about managing mobile devices, and securing information on those devices. Specifically, the top three security challenges that we’ve seen enterprises facing are secure network access for mobile workers, mitigating potential loss of data or intellectual property, and prevention of malware across multiple devices and operating systems.

[Biz Blog]: How does security extend beyond simple password protection? Should consumers also be concerned about the security built into their smartphones and tablets?

Password protection is really the baseline level of security for mobile devices – it’s a no brainer and something all organizations should implement. After all, the easiest way to expose sensitive information is by a device falling into the wrong hands. However, organizations are quickly coming to the realization that there is more to security than just basic password enforcement. At the end of the day, it’s about protecting the information on the device both in transit and in static state. Consumers are slower to understand the threats related to information security, but recent events such as compromises to passwords on popular social media and consumer cloud sites raise awareness that consumers need protection as well. I anticipate that as more of these incidents occur, consumers will place a much higher value on device and personal information security.

[Biz Blog]: Thanks for joining us and sharing from your experience!

What type of security challenges is your business experiencing? What steps and approaches have been taken to meet them? Share in the comments below.

It’s been an honor to be a part of conversations with enterprise customers during a major transition for Research In Motion® (RIM®). We’ve had many valuable questions sent to us, and we’re taking the opportunity to get answers from Robin Bienfait, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for RIM. Robin oversees the Enterprise Business Unit, BlackBerry Operations, Customer Service, and Corporate IT functions. In short, she plays a major role in leading the vision for BlackBerry enterprise solutions, and the execution of making that vision a reality. Check out our chat below:

Hi Robin, thanks for joining me today! I’m looking forward to representing our enterprise customers and voicing the questions that they have.

My pleasure Luke, it’s both a challenging time and a very exciting time for us at the moment, and I’m glad I can help to address our customers’ concerns directly.

Can you tell me a bit about your background and the role that you play with our enterprise customers?

Our customers are the reason we do what we do every day. My job is to meet customers where they’re at and help bring solutions to them that work best for their environment. I spent 22+ years at AT&T through all sorts of engineering and network operations leadership roles. When I left AT&T to join RIM over 5 years ago, I had led 30,000 people all dedicated to building a scalable and reliable enterprise class network. During that time, I interacted with enterprise customers on a daily basis, as I continue to do today. I believe it’s important to get to know the different pieces of a business – it’s not just about being a leader, it’s about getting involved in problems and solutions. I am 100% committed to using my experience, knowledge, and dedication to meet the needs of our enterprise customers – that’s what I’m here for.

Ok. I’m going to get right into the tough questions that our customers are asking. I know it’s important to you, and to all of RIM’s employees, to make sure that our customers hear information directly from you. – How can enterprises be confident that RIM will be around until the launch of BlackBerry® 10, and beyond, as a stable solution provider?

Our leadership team is very aware that BlackBerry is facing a few challenging quarters as we approach the launch of BlackBerry 10 – and we know there is much work to be done. A few weeks ago in Australia I met with many of our customers from the banking and financial sector; these customers rely on us, and we need to re-confirm their faith in our ability to perform and deliver. And we will work to do just that.

All companies need to go through changes in their evolution and it is our turn right now. Thorsten is making a lot of changes to ensure the company is addressing its challenges to give our customers the comfort that the company is not standing still and will be here to meet their needs. I think it’s important to look closely at the position that our business is in: We have $2.2 billion of cash in the bank, zero debt, are bringing in seasoned industry leaders who understand BlackBerry customers, are reducing costs in non-core areas, and investing in a plan to radically shift the company and the technology. I’m confident that we’re well positioned. What’s important is that we have a clear direction, are pivoting rapidly, and are absolutely committed to achieving these goals.

Our customers see a lot of media activity around RIM and speculation about its future. Will RIM be acquired or bought out, and if so, would this disrupt BlackBerry service for enterprise customers?

RIM is clearly a hot topic right now and many individuals and publications are speculating about our strategic options and future. We are a public company so media and analyst scrutiny is expected during such a major transition. The reality is straightforward: We have over 78 million customers that need our services on a day-to-day basis, and we’re firmly committed to the launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform. Our primary goal is to support our customers and drive value for shareholders and employees by continuing to invest and develop our enterprise initiatives.

You know, strategic partnerships have always been a part of RIM’s business model. We started building partnerships with carriers over a decade ago, and we’ll keep building partnerships to bring the best expertise and technology into the services and products we provide. I acutely understand the strategic importance of RIM’s network to our customers, and we are absolutely committed to upholding our long-standing history of providing this service reliably. The RIM network has supported critical functions for customers for over a decade; our global messaging infrastructure remains a competitive advantage.

At BlackBerry World 2012 you made commitments to our Enterprise customers: BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion as a cloud offering, and security for data at rest and data in transit for iOS and Android devices managed through BlackBerry Mobile Fusion. Can you provide an update on these?

We have a full roadmap and timeline for our enterprise offering and are well along the path of meeting these goals. As I said, we are continuing to invest in enterprise solutions and are dedicated to partnering with our customers to help them solve challenges and to help them succeed, it’s a priority and focus for us. We continue to expand and scale our MDM solution, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, including cross-platform management capabilities that we know are a major focus for many organizations.

It’s a CIO or IT administrator’s job to ensure that their organization’s mobility needs are met. Why shouldn’t they be planning for contingencies?

That’s a good question, Luke. Customers certainly don’t want to question their smartphone and connectivity – they just want it to work. Business continuity planning is a healthy practice for any business, and one that we often enable with BlackBerry solutions. But with a firm plan of action underway for RIM, demonstrable fiscal responsibility, and a deep history of security and support for enterprise, I firmly believe that we remain the clear choice for enterprise customers at this time. No one else has RIM’s track record of protecting enterprise data.

Will the planned layoff of 5,000 RIM employees affect customer service?

I want to clearly answer this – we do not expect any effect on customer service. Our customers are the reason we exist and we’re absolutely committed to helping ensure our customers’ needs are met. I know the decision to reduce headcount is very difficult – difficult on the people affected, difficult on their team members, difficult on their families – but we’re doing this to ensure the long-term success of the company. As Thorsten mentioned on the Q1 earnings call, support for critical functions like Network Operations, Customer Support, and BlackBerry 10 launch teams are our priority.

If RIM’s recent performance hasn’t been up to your expectations (and the expectations of many of our stakeholders), what changes have been made within RIM to proactively work to turn around performance? What additional changes are planned?

As I have outlined, many changes have been made to help build a strong and healthy future for RIM – we are focused on our priorities and keeping our line of sight on innovation. The culture is really shifting and streamlining. We’ve made radical shifts in top-level leadership to drive focus, reduced management layers, engaged in cost cutting initiatives, and a dedication to innovation via the BlackBerry 10 platform. We plan to continue this focus throughout fiscal year 2013 and in particular to meet the goal of cutting $1 billion in costs. We are pivoting strategically, and we’re confident in the clear path forward as well as in our assembled, experienced leadership team. Thorsten has discussed many of these changes in his recent submission to the Globe and Mail. If you haven’t read it, I’d encourage you to do so!

RIM has millions of customers waiting for the launch of BlackBerry 10. How do you know that BlackBerry 10 will meet their expectations?

Make no mistake; BlackBerry 10 is not a simple addition to our lineup of BlackBerry smartphones. BlackBerry 10 is a brand new mobile computing platform built on a rock-solid foundation of QNX technology that has been meeting the security, reliability, and performance needs of customers for more than 30 years. This platform will allow us to deeply engage with the mobile computing space and provide a springboard for rich future products and services. We are excited, we are dedicated, and we’re confident in this platform. In terms of meeting the needs and expectations, we’ll be partnering with many of our enterprise customers to allow them to take a look in advance of the launch, so they can see for themselves what we’re working on. The BlackBerry 10 platform will be supported and managed by BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, a solution built on years of leadership and experience in the MDM [Mobile Device Management] space. So you can see that this is an entire ecosystem and platform built to enable businesses and their employees. Like I said – very exciting stuff.

How can I trust BlackBerry Mobile Fusion as an MDM solution when the future of RIM is in question?

Beyond what I mentioned about a dedication to reliability and BlackBerry network service for our enterprise customers, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion represents a fundamental strength of RIM. We pioneered not only the smartphone market, but also mobile device management – in direct response to the needs of enterprise customers for security, manageability, efficiency, and convenience. We haven’t stopped, and won’t stop, listening to our customers, and BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is tailored to meet the needs of businesses today. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion builds on the foundation of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which has almost a quarter million active deployments. It represents innovation in mobile device management that extends across multiple platforms. Managing mobile enterprises has been our strength for over a decade, and BlackBerry Mobile Fusion with BlackBerry 10 will position us for the future.

It seems that one of RIM’s systemic issues has been product delays. How can customers be confident in RIM when BlackBerry 10 has been delayed more than once?

I know many of our customers are looking forward to the launch of BlackBerry 10, and they were disappointed by the delay into Q1 of calendar year 2013. The reason for this delay, as Thorsten has mentioned, is that we need more time to integrate all of the features that we’ve built. BlackBerry 10 is a combination of some incredible technologies, and the experience needs to be seamless. We will produce a stable mobile platform that delivers rich and exciting experiences for customers, and we refuse to compromise on quality in the process.

Thanks for joining me today Robin – do you have any closing thoughts for our enterprise customers?

Thanks for the questions, Luke. On behalf of all of RIM’s employees, I want to thank our customers for their incredible support – it’s clear that they’re cheering for us and want us to succeed. It’s truly an amazing experience to meet with so many influential business leaders in my work and to hear first-hand how important BlackBerry is to their business and personal lives. Their feedback is part of our daily evolution and growth and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

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My favorite recent example of innovation in mobile computing comes from our very own QNX auto team and their recent integration of BlackBerry software into yet another vehicle. If you could make one thing in your life “connected”, what would it be? Share in the comments below.