An increasing number of top companies and government departmentsthat were once devoted to the Blackberry are instead now givingsome staff the option of using Apple Inc's iPhone or smartphonesrunning off of Google Inc's Android-operating system. There is now a real danger for RIM that such switching will gatherpace and turn into a much bigger exodus of customers, mobile phoneindustry consultants and experts warned. The uncertainty surrounding RIM's future, and the possibility of asale, is "scary to an end user," said John Hering, chief executiveof Lookout, one of the world's biggest providers of mobile securityproducts. Within 12 hours of RIM's announcement, Hering said, he heard fromseveral corporate technology executives troubled by the news. "RIM is looking at it as 'How can we maximize the value of anasset' as opposed to 'How can we solve problems for the customer?'That is making customers nervous," he said. RIM told Reuters in a statement it had not noticed an increase ininquiries from customers after it disclosed the review. "RIM is in regular communication with our corporate customers toshare updates and to keep them apprised of our ongoing efforts torefocus the company and to continue meeting their needs," thestatement said. "As such, we have noticed no measurable increase inthe number of questions or concerns following (the) update." On Tuesday, RIM said it had hired deal-making bankers from JPMorganChase and Royal Bank of Canada to help it do a far-reaching reviewof its business. The Canadian company also shocked investors byreporting it expected a fiscal first-quarter loss, and said it waslooking at a significant number of job cuts. Sources have indicatedit may cut as many as 6,500 of its 16,500 jobs. The company's share price has collapsed in the past year, and it isnow only valued at about $5.4 billion, down from $84 billion at itspeak in 2008. Excluding its cash and the estimated value of itspatents, RIM's device business and its 78 million subscribersaround the world are in aggregate worth less than $1 billion toinvestors. LOST CONFIDENCE Retaining its customers' loyalty is a huge challenge. "The organizations using multiple devices have lost confidence inBlackBerry as a platform for the long term," said Alex Bratton, CEOof Lextech Global Services, a company that creates mobileapplications for companies. He added that as "people are doing hardware refreshes they aregoing in another direction." Fernando Alvarez, head of mobile solutions for IT services companyCap Gemini, said the company is rarely asked to do projects usingthe BlackBerry platform anymore. The BlackBerry dominated the market for mobile email until theiPhone was introduced in 2007 but is now third in market share. General Electric Co now says about one-third of the mobile devicesit issues to employees are iPhones. Other big companies that havestarted to use a range of different devices include Amgen Inc,FedEx Corp, Caterpillar Inc and Cisco Systems Inc. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, one of RIM'sbiggest customers, declined to comment on RIM's strategic review ordiscuss any contingency plans if the company gets into furthertrouble. Earlier this month, RIM announced that the Pentagon had cleared sixnew BlackBerry models for use on its networks, extending their longrelationship. The Pentagon has begun small pilot programs using other devices,according to Federal Computer Weekly, a publication that tracksU.S. government spending on technology. It estimates the U.S.military has 250,000 BlackBerrys, 5,000 iOS devices and 3,000Android-run devices. EMPLOYEE DEMAND The trend away from RIM has been fueled partly by demand fromworkers who crave the usability of devices running Apple's iOS andGoogle's Android, and do not want to carry several smartphones. Amassive network outage last October that meant millions ofBlackBerry users lost use of email for many hours also pushedtechnology buyers to look at alternatives. "If it were up to IT managers, BlackBerry would still be the deviceof choice, but with employees bringing their own devices there isno going back," said Dan Croft, CEO of Mission Critical Wireless. RIM's advantages include what industry experts widely describe assuperior security and device-management features that have made theBlackBerry appealing to corporate IT managers and a crucial toolfor police, government and military use. Apple and Google are adding new features in these areas with eachnew release of their software but have yet to catch up with RIM,said Dino Dai Zovi, a leading expert on mobile device security whois chief technology officer of consulting firm Trail of Bits. Still, with companies such as Symantec Corp and SAP's Sybasedivision offering mobile device management software that secures,monitors and controls mobile devices, companies are no longertethered to the BlackBerry for security reasons. While those technologies are not yet as advanced as RIM'sofferings, they are sufficient for securing and managing email formany corporate workers, security experts said. Apple's iOS and Android are "ready for prime time" for all but thehighest-risk users, Lookout's Hering said. A company's ability to shift to other devices can sometimes dependon how much mobile equipment it has on its books. Throwing outthose devices before they have depreciated in value could have bigfinancial implications, according to Gary Curtis, who works withfinancial services companies in his role as chief technologystrategist at outsourcing company Accenture. But others say it would not be that difficult. Lynden Tennison, the chief information officer of U.S. railroadUnion Pacific Corp - which is still mainly a BlackBerry customer -said that he had a plan for a worst-case scenario: "If RIM went away, was bought or went bankrupt what would we do? Wecould very easily transition to another provider," he said. If ithappened overnight "we would be busy for a week or two provisioningphones, but it's not like it would put us in a serious world ofhurt." (Additional reporting by Sinead Carew, Lynn Adler, Phil Wahba inNew York, Jim Wolf in Washington, Scott Malone in Boston andAlastair Sharp in Toronto.; Editing by Peter Lauria, Martin Howell). We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Nicd Rechargeable Battery , 12V LiFePO4 Battery for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Electric Bike Lithium Battery.
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