Dell, BoA, Citigroup all ditch RIM

[rudeguy]

http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/view?q=section:"Sci/Tech"&a=Vs8x7kTvdoRVyM

Not a good sign for RIM. Corporations are their bread and butter. If they let that segment start to slip, BB will be gone in short order.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I saw those, instead of losing customers a few at a time, we're talking thousands. 25K at Dell alone.

Damn...

Bank of America's 284,000 employees and Citigroup's 258,000 employees would simply have more choice in devices if the companies decide to permit iPhone usage, it wouldn't be a forced switch.

That's 1/2 million potential defectors from BOA & Citi

 

[Anubis]

thats gonna hurt, i read about dell this morning, the other 2 are also big news

 

[Deeko]

Dell does make sense. I mean - they're making their own phones now, and the Venue Pro is certainly a business-capable phone.

Bank of America and Citigroup are considering allowing employees to use iPhones, not 'ditching' their corporate phones for something else, big difference on that one.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Dell does make sense. I mean - they're making their own phones now, and the Venue Pro is certainly a business-capable phone.

Bank of America and Citigroup are considering allowing employees to use iPhones, not 'ditching' their corporate phones for something else, big difference on that one.

One could still argue that's a very bad thing for RIM, particularly considering how draconian IT depts are about this kind of stuff.

 

[Deeko]

One could still argue that's a very bad thing for RIM, particularly considering how draconian IT depts are about this kind of stuff.

Yes its certainly not good news for RIM, its just not as dire as the headlines make it seem.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Yes its certainly not good news for RIM, its just not as dire as the headlines make it seem.

Agreed, and RIM isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The Playbook is getting pretty positive feedback, unfortunately, I suspect it'll be corporate priced (expensive).

I wish the VenuePro was on a different carrier, I really like it's looks.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Looks like WM7 arrived just in time...

This is the beginning of the end for RIM...and beginning of three-way war between Apple, Google, and Microsoft for the coveted corporate market.

I predict MS will be the winner as WM7 will eventually integrate best with current infrastructure.

 

[Deeko]

I predict MS will be the winner as WM7 will eventually integrate best with current infrastructure.

In the pre-iPhone market, WM and BB battled for corporate supremacy. Its definitely a space they're familiar with. Microsoft will always have the best Exchange and Office integration by nature, which is a big advantage for them in the corporate world.

It will be interesting to see what happens, at any rate.

 

[MrX8503]

I predict MS will be the winner as WM7 will eventually integrate best with current infrastructure.

I think its still a bit early to be saying that. MS does have the advantage of being experienced in enterprise. Maybe they'll take enterprise and consumers by storm.

 

[gsaldivar]

RIM down from 46% to 22% of smartphone sales, in a single year... that's catastrophic.

 

[Deeko]

From 46% to 22% market share in a single year... that's catastrophic.

You have to remember - yes, on a relative scale that's a big drop, but on an absolute scale, they're still selling more phones than they ever have before. Their sales continue to hit new records, they're not exactly hurting. The market is still continuing to expand drastically.

 

[akugami]

I saw those, instead of losing customers a few at a time, we're talking thousands. 25K at Dell alone.

Damn...


That's 1/2 million potential defectors from BOA & Citi

The article is not clear. More info needed. Are those 1/2 million combined employees at BoA and Citi the total number of employees employed at those two companies or the total number of employees who are issued Blackberries? If the former, it might be a lesser (though still significant) impact.

Either way it's still bad. The Dell news shouldn't surprise anyone but BoA and Citi ditching RIM is big news and a huge blow to RIM. I honestly thought that RIM wouldn't begin to lose any large customers for another year or two. This would give them some time to beef up a new line of smart phones that integrate with BES. Seems like it's crunch time for RIM.

Looks like WM7 arrived just in time...

This is the beginning of the end for RIM...and beginning of three-way war between Apple, Google, and Microsoft for the coveted corporate market.

I predict MS will be the winner as WM7 will eventually integrate best with current infrastructure.

I know MS is late with their reboot and Android and iOS are getting all of the news but I think with MS's dominance in the corporate world that they have the best chance of usurping RIM's market.

Apple has never fared well with the corporate world. Their iOS policies and lack of corporate friendly/needed features automatically put them at a disadvantage.

Google would be the logical competitor with MS if RIM falters and becomes irrelevant. They are offering office type apps, granted it's mostly web based, and their Android OS offers more flexibility from a corporate standpoint.

RIM down from 46% to 22% of smartphone sales, in a single year... that's catastrophic.

Yes and no. Much like the iPhones, their sales percentage can drop but they can still be selling more phones. The smart phone market is increasing in size by the day. I believe (don't quote me on that) that RIM's last report showed increased growth in number of Blackberry phones sold. Of course, the next reporting period is going to show some serious hurt with Dell, BoA, and Citi leaving RIM's ecosphere.

 

[DivideBYZero]

This is the beginning of the end for RIM...

LOL, seriously...

EDIT: It's just Dell, as the article states BoA and Citigroup are 'considering' the iPhone and they've been doing this for about two years.

So the equivelent of 0.17% of last quarters sales are going because a customer has their own phone, and RIM is dead?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

this is just the beginning. in times where corporations are penny pinching, it makes sense to move away from RIM to other platforms that don't charge extra for exchange integration.

 

[rudeguy]

this is just the beginning. in times where corporations are penny pinching, it makes sense to move away from RIM to other platforms that don't charge extra for exchange integration.

I hate to agree with you, but I do.

Seriously...why a per line charge for BES on corporate accounts?

 

[OBLAMA2009]

the says 1) a lot about how good windows phone 7 is and 2) that verizon will be getting iphone

 

[shortylickens]

I would say 99% of those employees dont actually need the "superior" business support of Blackberry and would change in a heartbeat.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I hate to agree with you, but I do.

Seriously...why a per line charge for BES on corporate accounts?

Why per user charge for MobileMe?