Everything That's Wrong with RIM

[gsaldivar]

This isn't an attempt to troll what is obviously a difficult time for a very respectable company. It's simply an attempt to get an inside peek at what is really going on inside RIM.

While we can all debate the company's actions and the reasons behind them, at the end of the day we are all outsiders and at best, can only arrive at an "educated guess" as to what is actually happening behind closed doors.

What follows is a rare and candid assessment of the company's current situation, told first-hand by someone who is "in the trenches" at RIM. The full letter is available by clicking the link below:

"RIM is a great company that has exceptional potential, though they are going through a rough time and the market is right to punish them for some poor decisions, they have far more going for them than one would surmise from the recent media deluge...

"CEO Jim Balsillie's occupation of the 'Chief Marketing' position is evidence of one of the ongoing tragedies of the company and arguably Jim's inability to find someone for this role of vast importance is evidence of an underlying failure to grasp just how important this 'marketing' issues is especially in the context of the consumer space...

"[RIM's executives] brim with hubris regarding their success in the corporate market and are culturally blind to the gaping holes in their armour regarding consumer. They honestly think they understand consumer product, business, mentality, marketing - but they really don't...

"Most of the design decisions at RIM are made by 50 something engineers, otherwise highly accomplished and credible in the field of engineering. But since they've lived most of their lives in the rural areas of Southern Ontario, and don't have any real background or even social sensibility for culture, design and such issues, they're woefully unqualified for the task of aesthetic judgement...

"the company is run by a 'good ole' boy' network from Southern Ontario. Though I actually believe there can be advantages in this close-knit, trust-based social ecosystem, it is unacceptable in this day and age that a global brand should have the vast majority of its citizens derived from a section of a small province, of a small, somewhat provincial and less important country (Canada)...

Read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-rim-employee-2011-6

 

[mammador]

RIM's problem is that it got left behind, and essentially got complacent.

IMO, it coasted on the fact that millions use Blackberrys and BBM, and did not do much to enhance its strategic and market position. At the same time, Apple, HTC and the other top makers built superior hardware (and opted superior OS') and Blackberry-brand phones are being found out relative to them. Who seriously think that even a new model (like the new Torch) is as good as the iPhone 4, or the Samsung Galaxy 2? (the iPhone 4 is about a year on the market, and still arguably the best smartphone in the marketplace).

RIM basically needs to change its phones OS, and/or re-design its phones. I don't think the company is dead, but it needs some serious changes in both its corporate strategy, product portfolio and product designs to compete better with Apple. iOS is not the biggest selling OS of course, but it is in a de facto sense the market leader of the smartphone market.