Summary

• BlackBerry provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and Government.
• Company secures more than 500 million endpoints including more than 235 million vehicles.
• The company is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems.

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB, LSE: 0R0P) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company’s software powers over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems.

Recent Developments

BlackBerry Launches QNX Everywhere to Address Global Embedded Software Developer Skills Shortage¹

January 10, 2024;  BlackBerry Limited launched QNX® Everywhere, a new initiative to address growing global demand for highly-skilled embedded systems’ developers. As markets including automotive, industrial, robotics and medical pursue a software-defined future, software engineers familiar with the most popular platforms and technologies are in high demand. With QNX Everywhere, BlackBerry is offering easy access for students, academic and research organizations, and hobbyists to develop knowledge of QNX® technologies that are trusted by the leading eight medical device manufacturers and more than 45 of the leading vehicle manufacturers worldwide.

QNX Everywhere will introduce elements including self-service access to QNX software, on-demand training, QNX-optimized open-source projects and easy access to cloud-enabled development tools. Additionally, QNX will be providing support for broadly available, low-cost CPU boards to help enable developers to easily design and test their software on embedded hardware.

BlackBerry Launches QNX Sound, the Complete Audio and Acoustics Innovation Platform for Software-Defined Vehicles²

January 8, 2024 – BlackBerry Limited announced the launch of QNX® Sound, an innovative development platform that decouples audio and acoustics software from the vehicle hardware to give audio designers and engineers complete creative freedom to deliver new and exciting in-vehicle sound experiences.

QNX Sound enables automakers to consolidate all audio and acoustic functions seamlessly and cost-effectively within the main software stack of the software-defined vehicle architecture, using pre-integrated and pre-tested core technologies. This includes a complete out-of-the-box library of automotive acoustics functional modules for telephony, safety alerting, noise reduction, sound enhancement, media playback, etc. The software foundation not only provides more control over quality and functionality of these services, but it also includes advanced tuning tools with a graphical programming interface that unlocks endless signal processing creativity. For the first time, this offers an entirely software-driven foundation for automakers to explore new audio-based services and collaborations with technology companies and multimedia content providers to bring new, value-add features into the vehicle, opening new opportunities to create new revenue streams from the activation of optional features – or to upgrades from base audio to a branded premium level – as on-demand or subscription services.

Company Overview

The Company provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The Company secures more than 500 million endpoints including more than 235 million vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the Company leverages artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems.

https://fintel.io/doc/sec-blackberry-ltd-1070235-10k-2023-march-31-19447-9180

Security Software Industry

As the digital transformation of enterprises continues to advance, workforces are becoming more decentralized, mobile and remote, and data and applications are increasingly migrating to the cloud. As part of this trend, the number of connected endpoints is growing rapidly, as is their complexity and the volume of sensitive data that they process and store. These endpoints, which include smartphones, laptops, desktops, servers, vehicles, industrial equipment and other connected devices in the Internet of Things (“IoT”), increasingly operate beyond the traditional network security perimeter and present an expanding attack surface to cyber adversaries.

At the same time, the threat environment for enterprises and manufacturers has become increasingly hostile as the number of adversaries grows and the scale and sophistication of their attacks, increasingly focused on the endpoint, continue to develop. Today’s malicious actors are often well-trained and well-funded criminal organizations, state-sponsored agents and international hacking collectives with the capability of employing advanced techniques to penetrate endpoints and encrypt, destroy or exfiltrate data. These groups have been responsible for highly publicized breaches that have exposed personal information and intellectual property, disrupted operations and infrastructure, extracted ransoms and caused significant reputational damage to organizations across a broad range of industries.

Subsidiary

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Products and Services

The Company has multiple products and services

Cybersecurity

The Cybersecurity business consists of BlackBerry Spark, BlackBerry® SecuSUITE® and BlackBerry® AtHoc®.

BlackBerry Spark software platform, which integrates a unified endpoint security layer with BlackBerry unified endpoint management to enable secure endpoint communications in a zero-trust environment. BlackBerry UES is a set of complementary cybersecurity products offering endpoint protection platform, endpoint detection and response, mobile threat defense, zero-trust network access and user and entity behavior analytics capabilities. The BlackBerry Spark platform is informed by the Company’s AI and machine learning capabilities, continuous innovations, professional cybersecurity services and threat research, industry partnerships and academic collaborations.

The BlackBerry UES Suite offers leading Cylance® AI and machine learning-based cybersecurity solutions, including: CylancePROTECT®, an EPP and available MTD solution that uses an automated, prevention-first approach to protect against the execution of malicious code on an endpoint; CylanceOPTICS®, an EDR solution that provides both visibility into and prevention of malicious activity on an endpoint; CylanceGUARD®, a managed detection and response solution that provides 24/7 threat hunting and monitoring; CylanceGATEWAY™, an AI-empowered ZTNA solution, and CylancePERSONA™, a UEBA solution that provides continuous authentication by validating user identity in real time.

The BlackBerry Spark UEM Suite includes the Company’s BlackBerry UEM, BlackBerry® Dynamics™ and BlackBerry® Workspaces solutions. BlackBerry UEM is a central software component of the Company’s secure communications platform, offering a “single pane of glass”, or unified console view, for managing and securing devices, applications, identity, content and endpoints across all leading operating systems. BlackBerry Dynamics offers a best-in-class development platform and secure container for mobile applications, including the Company’s own enterprise applications such as BlackBerry® Work and BlackBerry® Connect for secure collaboration. The BlackBerry Spark platform also includes BBM Enterprise, an enterprisegrade secure instant messaging solution for messaging, voice and video.

BlackBerry SecuSUITE is a certified, multi-OS voice and text messaging solution with advanced encryption, antieavesdropping and continuous authentication capabilities, providing a maximum level of security on conventional mobile devices for government and businesses.

BlackBerry AtHoc and BlackBerry Alert are secure, networked critical event management solutions that enable people, devices and organizations to exchange critical information in real time during business continuity and life safety operations.

IoT

The IoT business consists of BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS) and BlackBerry IVY.

The principal component of BTS is BlackBerry QNX, a global provider of real-time operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, development tools, and professional services for connected embedded systems in the automotive, medical, industrial automation and other markets. A recognized leader in automotive software, BlackBerry QNX offers a growing portfolio of safety-certified, secure and reliable platform solutions and is focused on achieving design wins with automotive OEMs, Tier 1 vendors and automotive semiconductor suppliers. These solutions include the Neutrino® operating system and the BlackBerry QNX® CAR platform, the most advanced embedded software platform for the autonomous vehicle market, as well as other products designed to alleviate the challenges of compliance with ISO 26262, the automotive industry’s functional safety standard. Additionally, the Company’s secure automotive over-the-air software update management service allows OEMs to manage the life cycle of the software and security in their vehicles.

Licensing and Other

Licensing and Other consists primarily of the Company’s patent licensing business and legacy service access fees (SAF).

The Company’s Licensing business is responsible for the management and monetization of the Company’s global patent portfolio. The patent portfolio continues to provide a competitive advantage in the Company’s core product areas as well as providing leverage in the development of future technologies and licensing programs in both core and adjacent vertical markets. As of February 28, 2023, the Company owned approximately 37,500 worldwide patents and applications.

References

1. ^ https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/company/newsroom/press-releases/2024/blackberry-launches-qnx-everywhere-to-address-global-embedded-software-developer-skills-shortage
2. ^ https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/company/newsroom/press-releases/2024/blackberry-launches-qnx-sound-the-complete-audio-and-acoustics-innovation-platform-for-software-defined-vehicles