CIO Bulletin

Smooth Transition from Hardware Icon to Software Leader Upholds BlackBerry Limited’s Organized Innovation Culture

BlackBerry Limited is a world-class brand that needs no introduction. Quite frankly, BlackBerry is one of the few companies that has hugely impacted the world of technology. Now a leading software company, BlackBerry is striking the right chords, guarding the cybersecurity space. The company is poised to leverage its brand strength and heritage in mobile security along with its enterprise cybersecurity and embedded software growth engines to accelerate into the Internet of Things, a category with billions of connected devices and massive market potential.

Needless to say, BlackBerry has always been focused on securing our connected future. While this connectivity was once limited to handsets, it now underpins most aspects of our society. From powering the latest healthcare devices, enabling completely self-driving vehicles, to routing the satellites which fuel our internet and telecom networks – secure data is key.

As more of the world becomes connected, BlackBerry remains committed to securing all the places information flows.

The company was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario.

CIO Bulletin reached out to John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry Limited, about how the company is revolutionizing the cybersecurity industry and plans to stay at the forefront. Below is an excerpt.

Head to Head with John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry Limited

Q. Blackberry, without a doubt, has developed one of the most intelligent security systems in the world. But where do you think the modern security systems are lacking behind, and how is Blackberry filling the void?

In the new era of remote work, there’s a greater need for intelligent security everywhere. Just like we once put the power of the office in someone’s hand with a phone, we are now putting that same power and security into everything they touch. However, the key is to do this without adding productivity hurdles.

That’s why we’ve strived to ensure that BlackBerry Spark^® enables enterprises to enact a zero-trust architecture while providing employees with a zero-touch experience. This is powered by unmatched AI, providing continuous learning to gain better insight into trusted behaviors.

It’s also critical that security platforms be as intelligent as possible, and that means powerful AI. When it comes to preventing cyber-attacks, intelligent technologies must lie at the heart of the solution to rapid and new cyber-attacks. Such technologies help to fuel automated and predictive threat detection, which can spot the signs of a threat before it infiltrates systems which typically sparks the reactive response. AI-based cybersecurity solutions are not only capable of preventing known threats, but of predicting and preventing new threats before they have the chance to cause significant damage.

Q. As a CEO, how have your priorities changed from when you first started?

In many ways, my priorities haven’t changed. I spoke at the 2014 Code Conference shortly after taking the role, and I talked about the surprising strength of the company’s security and automotive software suites. The primary difference has been shifting from building to scaling. In 2014, we were still building upon our offerings. In building an industry-leading product suite, we believed it was important to include the right technologies – not just the ones most readily available – to ensure our customers remained protected. This included incorporating unmatched AI and ML capabilities into our platform. This gives customers the intelligence needed to fend off today’s most lethal cyber threats. This also included achieving the highest level of safety certification for automotive software.

Fast-forward to 2022, our focus is primarily on scaling our best-in-class software to new customers and new industries. Our partnership with AWS to develop the IVY connected vehicle platform scales BlackBerry’s footprint in the smart car and EV space. Building of BlackBerry QNX’s unmatched legacy in securing vehicle’s critical systems, the IVY platform secures the new ways data is interacting with vehicles. With companies like Geico, HERE Technologies, and Quora already on the advisory panel, we’re expecting to see this scale quickly over the coming year.

Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently when you were first starting out?

In driving BlackBerry’s transformation, I took the right actions in the right sequence. If I could do one thing differently it would be to go faster. I tried to smooth the transition from hardware to software and ensure I brought the team along in our journey. I would not change any action we took; I would only execute these actions faster to drive greater appreciation of our company’s value.

Importantly, BlackBerry always had roots in security and privacy, so shifting focus was natural.

We moved to connect and secure all endpoints building the most advanced AI cybersecurity solutions and delivering on the promise of zero trust.

“Today, we secure 96% of the threat landscape and securely connect more than 500 million mobile, desktop, and IoT endpoint devices. Our safety-certified software is used in over 195 million vehicles, and we continue to expand into new markets with new capabilities and innovation. This includes the 2,000 patents awarded to us in the last year.”

Q. In your entire career as a CEO, what has surprised you the most?

The pace of technological change continues to astound me. Technologies that would have seemed impossible only a decade ago are now central to our everyday lives. Our world – and devices – are more connected than anyone could have ever imagined.

Enabling trust is central to any innovation. Because of this, BlackBerry solutions have helped – in a however small way – bring many innovations to market. I hope to never stop being surprised by some of the innovations our security solutions enable because that is the true showcase of our value.

Q. What does the future hold for Blackberry and its customers?

Nine years ago, we defined a strategy to transform BlackBerry into a software company, allowing us to stay 100% focused on providing enabling technologies to ensure the safety and security of all the devices and systems our customers rely on. Today, we secure 96% of the threat landscape and securely connect more than 500 million mobile, desktop, and IoT endpoint devices. Our safety-certified software is used in over 195 million vehicles, and we continue to expand into new markets with new capabilities and innovation. This includes the 2,000 patents awarded to us in the last year. Going forward we will be there for our customers in providing the highest level of safety and security software and services to better enable their employees and customers.

Q. Do you have anything to say to your existing Blackberry users?

First, I’d like to thank BlackBerry’s loyal customers and partners for their support and commitment. Today, we remain dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems with our industry-leading technologies in artificial intelligence and machine learning, safety-certified real-time operating systems, critical event management, secure communications, and more. And as we expand and apply our portfolio of capabilities every day, we look forward to helping you create a safer, smarter, and infinitely more secure way to live and do business. Just know, like always, we’ll continue to be there for you– delivering Intelligent Security, Everywhere.

John Chen | A Formidable Leader

As Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry Limited, John Chen is responsible for defining the company’s vision and goals, setting its strategy, and ensuring the team’s execution matches corporate objectives. Appointed in November 2013, John has led BlackBerry through a successful pivot from hardware icon to software leader.