Blackberry 2015 Annual Report Download - page 18

Table of Contents
9
Longer term, the Company plans to focus on additional value-added services to further enhance BlackBerry’s enterprise
offerings.
BTS business
The BTS business is comprised of five units: QNX, Certicom, Paratek, the BlackBerry IoT Platform, and Intellectual Property
and Patent Licensing (“IPPL”). The BTS unit was created to position BlackBerry’s technology licensing businesses together
under one leadership umbrella.
The largest BTS business unit is QNX. QNX is a global provider of operating systems, development tools, and middleware for
the automotive, medical, industrial, consumer, networking, and defense markets. QNX is the recognized leader in software for
automotive electronics, with products deployed in the infotainment and telematics systems of more than 50 million vehicles
worldwide. QNX automotive customers include Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover,
Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen and more than 40 original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) in
all. With its field-proven technology and suite of safety and security certifications, QNX is also a preferred supplier for
companies building medical devices, train-control systems, industrial robots, hardware security modules, building automation
systems, green energy solutions, and other mission-critical and safety-critical applications. QNX continues to attract new
business through a growing portfolio of innovative products, including, most recently, an OS for automotive safety, hypervisor
software that manages safety-critical systems in realtime, and a wireless framework that enables customers to upgrade their
cellular and Wi-Fi hardware without having to recode or modify applications.
Certicom specializes in applied cryptography and key management, offering both software components and end-to-end security
solutions targeted at bandwidth and resource-constrained applications. Certicom’s asset management technology is deployed in
over 400 million high value ASICs and its certificates are used in over 80 million IoT devices.
Paratek designs, develops and licenses its adaptive RF antenna tuning technology. With the growth of RF bands to be covered
and stringent performance requirements imposed, RF antenna tuning is becoming a key differentiator to improve the antenna
performance of smartphones. Paratek technology has been adopted by six of the top ten smartphone OEMs.
The BlackBerry IoT Platform connects data generators with data consumers via an intelligent platform and application service
modules, all hosted on a global, scalable, multi-tenant network protected by BlackBerry's recognized security features. The
BlackBerry IoT Platform intends to focus initially on applications for asset tracking, the connected car and the healthcare
industry.
The IPPL unit manages an extensive patent portfolio, with an average and median remaining life of 12 years. The IPPL
portfolio includes a broad blend of both standards essential patents and implementation patents.
Messaging
The Company is focused on expanding its base of BBM users through platform enhancements and innovative services. BBM
offers a rich messaging experience with features such as free voice calling over Wi-Fi, one-click sharing of files and photos,
Dropbox integration, location sharing and BBM Channels, among others. BBM Channels extends the popular BBM experience
to brands, artists, businesses and communities, connecting consumers and groups in real-time. BBM is now available on iOS,
Android and Windows Phone platforms, in addition to BlackBerry 10, responding to smartphone users' desire to be able to
connect to all of their friends and family, regardless of the smartphone they carry. The BBM platform has been expanded with
in-app advertising and a virtual goods store. The Company believes that an increase in the user base for the BBM service in
particular could lead to increased opportunities for monetization of the services offered through the platform. For enterprise
customers, the Company has introduced new offerings for secure enterprise communications with BBM Protected and a
mobile-first meeting experience with BBM Meetings.
Additional considerations
Across all of the four core businesses, the following objectives are important to the success of the Company’s strategy:
• Seeking strategic alliances and relationships. BlackBerry intends to broaden the scope and continue to strengthen and
develop its strategic alliances. The Company may also consider new types of partnerships and relationships that could
involve closer collaboration with other technology leaders to affirm and enhance the Company’s competitive position.
Areas of strategic alliances and relationships include, but are not limited to, software application developers and
companies, global telecommunications carriers, intranet and Internet applications and portal companies, Internet social
networking providers, multimedia content providers, gaming platform vendors, consumer electronics retailers, original
equipment manufacturers, microchip and other manufacturers, and global systems integrators.
• Targeted acquisition and investment strategy. BlackBerry will continue to evaluate and acquire companies and make
investments in products that provide opportunities for growth or expansion of the BlackBerry value proposition. These
may include, but are not limited to, companies or products related to software, wireless solutions, security, and