Today, attendees at the MobileCON 2012 conference in San Diego had the opportunity to listen to Research In Motion (RIM®) Chief Information Officer, Robin Bienfait, share insights into the future of mobility from an enterprise mobility management and professional end user perspective. Because this conference is enterprise and mobile IT focused, Robin discussed how BlackBerry® is partnering with its customer base to unleash the power of mobile information. Business professionals today need to rapidly make intelligent decisions, without worrying about the reliability and security of core infrastructure. The concept of untethered mobility was a major theme of today’s keynote. Being connected means that you’re free to go anywhere without losing the connection to what’s important to you. Robin encouraged all in attendance to look beyond email to a truly mobile vision – a vision that brings people and information together, in any time, in any space.

Highlights from the MobileCON keynote included an expansion of RIM’s current BlackBerry® Balance™ offering, a glimpse into RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 platform, and insights into how business leaders can shape their IT framework to keep information safe and end-users satisfied.

An interesting feature that is currently in market today, Robin showcased how BlackBerry Balance is designed to give users peace of mind that their privacy is respected, while IT administrators can rest assured that their sensitive corporate data is also protected. In San Diego, Robin talked about how this capability is reshaping and empowering today’s mobile workforce. BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to separate and secure work and personal information, so users can stay connected to the important people and things in their life, without sacrificing functionality.

Robin also discussed RIM’s big-picture commitment to enterprise customers remains paramount, “We’re committed to listening and to partnering with you as you face mobility trends and challenges.”

A major win for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), BlackBerry Balance is designed to give users peace of mind that their privacy is respected, while IT administrators can rest assured that their sensitive corporate data is also protected. BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to separate and secure work and personal information, so users can stay connected to the important people and things in their life, without sacrificing functionality. In San Diego, Robin announced RIM’s commitment to extending BlackBerry security to data-at-rest on Android and iOS devices. Along with BlackBerry Balance for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, this will provide the confidence and comfort that IT Administrators need across their entire mobile environment.

While RIM is confident that BlackBerry devices are the safest, most robust, and cost-effective solution for the enterprise, for those organizations that wish to allow Android and iOS into their environment, BlackBerry will continue to keep your corporate data safe and secure – just as we’ve always done with our devices – and now for iOS and Android. We want to take the uncertainty and guesswork out of letting the unknown into your environment, and work together with our partners on solutions that work best for them, and for their unique ecosystem. We are an industry leader known as the world’s most secure solution, and we are excited to extend this capability to other mobile platforms. Some may say we’re breaking the rules here by supporting the management of competitive devices… but our big-picture commitment to our enterprise customers remains paramount – we’re committed to listening and to partnering with you as you face mobility trends and challenges.

From its core DNA, BlackBerry has always delivered a solution that engages people, brings them together, and empowers collaboration and success. The BlackBerry 10 platform will help you to achieve goals and take action, and the live demonstration by RIM’s Jeff Gadway gave attendees a glimpse into what to expect in Q1 of 2013. From the peek and flow gestures to the demonstration of BlackBerry Balance capabilities, the launch of BlackBerry 10 is set to be a pinnacle moment in the rich history of mobile computing. BlackBerry is laying the foundation for a fundamental change in how we all communicate, collaborate, and engage with information. Stay tuned to the BlackBerry for Business Blog for future updates from inside RIM – there is much more to share and discuss!

MobileCON is here again, or rather, for the first time since being renamed from “CTIA”. If you’re unfamiliar, MobileCON is an event tailored for enterprises, professionals, and mobile IT experts looking to solve mobility challenges within their organization. As outlined on the MobileCON website, this enterprise mobility conference offers “3 days of thought leadership, actionable education, peer-to-peer learning, and solutions shopping.” We’re excited to be a part of this year’s conference. In fact, Research In Motion® (RIM®) Chief Information Officer Robin Bienfait is set to address the attendees during today’s keynote; stream it live on the MobileCON web site.

With the recent announcement of BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 as well as updates and sneak peeks of what we’re building for the BlackBerry® 10 platform, this event is a great opportunity to learn more about RIM’s enterprise innovations. At this event, we’re keen to show attendees how we’ve consolidated, streamlined, and simplified our enterprise mobility management offerings. We’ve designed our products and services to power multiple platforms and keep data secure and manageable – all while maintaining user experience and flexibility for personal use.

There are tens of thousands of current BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5 deployments currently in the market managing BlackBerry devices. But we know that you’re facing new pressures and challenges both for IT and for unified employee productivity and connectivity – and that’s what we hope to address at MobileCON 2012. While the variety of mobile devices and form factors has exploded in business, the importance of data security remains paramount. We’ve heard this straight from you – and we’ve built on our legacy of pioneering the mobile management space to move forward with your business in meeting and overcoming these challenges. We’re very much looking forward to MobileCON 2012 and sharing our innovation roadmap. RIM is rapidly adapting and shifting to meet the needs of our customers while maintaining our rich history of security and reliability.

If you’d like to learn more about BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, and Robin Bienfait, tune in to the MobileCON 2012 keynote today at 12pm Eastern/9am PDT!

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.