Samsung’s reported offer of up to US$7.5 billion for BlackBerry may turn out to be only a rumor, but such a match might make sense for both sides.
BlackBerry and Samsung quickly denied a Reuters report on Wednesday that executives of the two companies had met about a possible acquisition. But the once-mighty Canadian mobile vendor may need a suitor if it can’t weather its current transition, and Samsung could gain a lot from BlackBerry’s security assets and enterprise relationships.
“I could see where Samsung could consider this to be a pretty attractive deal,” said Pund-IT analyst Charles King.
Chief among BlackBerry’s assets is its security technology, including secure data centers around the world. Its security credentials keep U.S. President Barack Obama and other government and military users on BlackBerrys. Samsung itself has been cozying up to the company. In November, the South Korean vendor said it would integrate BlackBerry Enterprise Server 12 with its Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
Back in the last round, I had Samsung pegged as a prime buyer for BlackBerry because the two companies have complimentary strengths and desires. If you want to buy more samsung galaxy S5 cases,you can go to favor2buy.com.
Ultimately, Samsung is a hardware company that's been trying to get into enterprise software and services, and BlackBerry is an enterprise software and services company that's been struggling to sell hardware.
Some Android One handsets available in India are arguably a better deal — they have basically the same hardware for a similar price, and can take advantage of a better selection of software thanks to the Android platform. So Samsung will rely on bundled content to sway Indian consumers into trying the nascent operating system. Samsung points out that several “important apps” are already available for Tizen, including WhatsApp, which is key for the Indian market.
The Samsung Z1 will be bundled with entertainment apps and services, in a package called “Joy Box.” It includes free three-month subscriptions to services that stream Bollywood songs and movies.
A tie-up with Samsung might fit BlackBerry’s long-term strategy, too. Though BlackBerry still sells handsets, it sees its future growth in enterprise software and services, said Avi Greengart, analyst at Current Analysis. Much of its software already works on multiple platforms, including Android and iOS.
“I could absolutely foresee a day when BlackBerry would stop selling phones,” Greengart said. Meanwhile, its security, device management and messaging products could complement Samsung’s phone lineup and Knox security platform, he said. Samsung could also gain access to many lucrative enterprise customers that are tied to BlackBerry today.
Samsung offers BlackBerry a full product lineup, a sales team, a financial lifeline, and components.
It's very difficult to be a mid-sized, quality-focused player in the smartphone world. HTC is struggling. Motorola got snapped up by Lenovo, and Microsoft bought Nokia's handset business. The industry's new up-and-comers are all either gigantic conglomerates (ZTE, TCL, Lenovo) or value-focused local players (Xiaomi, Meizu, Micromax, Spice.)
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