BlackBerry Transforms Mobile Collaboration with New BBM Meetings Solution

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - November 13, 2014 

BlackBerry Transforms Mobile Collaboration with New BBM Meetings Solution 

BlackBerry enhances productivity and security for mobile professionals with mobile first solution, BBM Meetings

Waterloo, ON – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today announced the launch of BBM™ Meetings, a multi-OS, mobile first voice and video conferencing solution which delivers a mobile collaboration experience that enhances the productivity of mobile professionals, while reducing the operating cost for the enterprise.

Voice and video conferencing is an increasingly important capability for enterprises, but current solutions fall short of providing an effective collaboration tool for their increasingly mobile workforce. According to Strategy Analytics, the enterprise mobile conferencing market is projected to grow to 165 million users and revenue of $4.7 billion by 20181. Despite market growth, the mobile collaboration experience today does not meet the demands of today’s mobile professional. Employees face challenges with joining meetings from their mobile device, and with sharing and collaborating in a rich, easy and reliable way. This leads to lost time and lost productivity. In a recent survey, 63 percent of respondents said mobile devices that help them collaborate better in meetings and on projects would be beneficial in enabling productivity2.

Through BBM Meetings, BBM™ users on Android™ and BlackBerry® 10 smartphones as well as users on a Windows® PC or Mac have access to high quality audio and video conferencing capabilities that leverage the collaboration benefits and functionality that BlackBerry is known for. BBM Meetings makes it simpler and easier for mobile workers to join meetings on the go. It is also a fraction of the cost of other apps that provide similar functionality.

“BlackBerry’s enterprise strategy extends beyond our commanding position in the EMM market to offer a premiere set of value-added services, including a mobile collaboration service for customers,” said John Sims, President, Global Enterprise Services for BlackBerry. “BBM is the only mobile messaging platform for Android and BlackBerry smartphones to deliver a complete meetings experience that puts mobility first. Many voice and video conferencing solutions were built with just the desktop in mind and mobile as an after-thought. BBM Meetings is designed from a mobile first perspective specifically to enable mobile employees to work together more effectively and get more done on the go.”

Key features of BBM Meetings:

• Schedule on the go: With BBM Meetings, you can easily initiate or schedule a video and audio conference from your mobile device. Attendees can be invited from your local or company address book by BBM or email. All your meetings are instantly added to your device calendar.
• BBM Chats become meetings at the touch of a button: BBM Meetings makes it easy to turn any BBM chat, multi person chat, group chat or Voice call into a live BBM Meeting with a simple touch of a button.
• Ring, answer, meet:  Joining a meeting is as easy as that. With BBM Meetings, when it’s time to meet your phone rings. Answer it just like a voice call and you’re in the meeting ready to go, without the need to struggle with conference IDs, passcodes and PINs.
• Present anywhere: Joining a meeting from your mobile device shouldn’t limit your ability to present and participate. BBM Meetings is designed first for the mobile participant, so you can present from your device of choice – mobile or desktop. Show your screen, deliver a presentation, share a document, or even annotate.
• HD video and voice conferencing: Bring great ideas to life with HD video & voice conferencing for up to 25 participants. View the speaker full screen, what they are presenting, or swipe through a gallery of attendees.

New Value-Added Services Bundle

BlackBerry also announced a new value-added services bundle that will be available in December. The Enterprise Communicatorbundle includes BBM Meetings, BBM™ Protected and Advantage Level Support for $12 USD per month. Enterprises can purchase this bundle through their BlackBerry Account Manager or licensed distributor.

For more information about BBM Meetings, visit www.blackberry.com/bbmmeetings.  

(1) Source: Strategy Analytics Global Mobile Enterprise Business Applications Revenue/Users Forecast 2012-2018, December 2013

(2) Source: ‘Global Productivity Study’, conducted by GfK for BlackBerry, July 2014

About BBM

Introduced in 2005, BBM set the standard for mobile instant messaging and continues to drive innovation in messaging and private social networking. Today, BBM is one of the largest private social mobile networks, driving real, active conversations. Customers love BBM for its privacy, controls and immediacy with Delivered and Read statuses and message-in-progress notices.  

About BlackBerry
A global leader in mobile communications, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.