Blackberry 2015 Annual Report Download - page 21

Table of Contents
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During fiscal 2015, QNX announced:
• QNX OS for Automotive Safety 1.0: a new OS that addresses the growing demand for digital instrument clusters,
heads-up displays, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and other in-car applications with functional safety
requirements.
• QNX Acoustics for Voice 3.0: designed to help in-car hands-free and speech recognition systems deliver the highest
quality user experience.
• QNX OS for Medical 1.1: an OS that complies with the IEC 62304 medical device standard for software life cycle
processes and is designed to help manufacturers reduce the cost of developing robotic surgical instruments, patient
monitoring systems, infusion pumps, blood analysis systems, and other safety-critical products that must pass stringent
regulatory approval.
BBM
BBM is the Company’s popular instant mobile to mobile private messaging service and is now available on BlackBerry, iOS,
Android and Windows Phone platforms.
The latest releases of BBM include new innovations for both consumers and enterprises. The Company recently introduced
new privacy and control features for BBM such as timed messages, message retraction and high definition photo transfer
capability to allow users more control over their communications. The Company also introduced the BBM Shop that allows
users to purchase stickers, wallpapers, applications and content directly in the BBM Shop. The Company continued to extend
BBM Channels to brands, artists, businesses and communities, connecting consumers and groups in real-time, and introduced a
new partnership with social integration platform Hootsuite to help create, moderate and engage with Channel followers. The
Company announced that BBM will be available on wearable technologies for a wide range of Android Wear™ smartwatches
in early 2015. The Company also announced a series of new initiatives that will enhance the mobile payment capabilities for
users of BBM, including BBM Money in Indonesia and BBM integration with TransferTo, to allow for the transfer of prepaid
mobile credit across borders.
In fiscal 2015, the Company also announced two new value-added services that bring together the core strengths of BBM with
features and capabilities aimed at enterprises. BBM Protected was launched in June 2014 and the Company believes it provides
regulated industries with the most secure and reliable real-time mobile messaging in the industry. The Company also
announced BBM Meetings, a multi-OS, mobile first voice and video conferencing solution which delivers a mobile
collaboration experience that enhances the productivity of mobile professionals, while reducing the operating cost for the
enterprise.
Sales, Marketing and Distribution
The Company markets and sells its BlackBerry smartphones primarily through global wireless communications carriers as well
as through third party distribution channels, which distribute the smartphones to enterprises and end users. The Company has a
sales and marketing team that supports its partners through training, technical account management and field marketing
initiatives. In certain markets, BlackBerry 10 smartphones are also available directly from the Company on
ShopBlackBerry.com, with direct sales to large customers and through other third party online retailers.
The Company licenses cross-platform (Android, iOS, Windows and BlackBerry 10) enterprise mobile software and services,
including BES12, and provides support and engineering services, to customers via its direct sales force. The Company also
licenses cross-platform enterprise mobile software and services via global wireless communications carriers and other
distribution partners throughout the world.
The Company licenses QNX software and development tools and provides professional engineering services to customers in
the automotive and other embedded markets via a direct sales force and a small set of distributors. The QNX licenses are
monetized as royalties on units shipped and tool licenses are monetized through development seat and maintenance fees.
Customers
The Company markets and sells its products to channel partners, primarily global wireless communications carriers and third
party distribution companies, as well as directly to enterprise customers. The primary direct customers for the BlackBerry
wireless solution are wireless carriers and distributors.
For customer concentration information during the two most recently completed financial years, see the Company's MD&A for
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2015, in the section entitled “Market Risk of Financial Instruments - Credit and Customer
Concentration.”