ASSIGNMENT 4_BLACKBERRY

STRATEGIES
Quality, strategy, and value creation
Section-3

Name: Mohamed Arslan

Student id: 8812741
SWOT analysis – BLACKBERRY limited

STRENGTH WEAKNESS
1.Security end device, exclusive for business 1. No changes in design and software with
purpose. current market trends

2. The classic QWERTY keyboard.
3. loyal customers especially the business and
high-profile clients.
4. elite brand and recognition.
5. $3 billion band cash on hand approximately.
2. not upgrading the software and design often.
3. very few numbers of units produced, less
production.
4.application use less compared to another
operating system.
5. expensive price of the device.
6.moslt dependent on the 3rd party applications
and contracts.

Opportunities
1. Should be open to developers to
develop apps with the operating
system.
2. should collaborate with multiple
companies in developing designs and
applications as per the trend.
3. Should focus on developing high
productivity and utility phone.
Threat
Highly competitive device operating system
such as IOS and android.
Better applications in other operating systems.
Better utility phones available at affordable
cost.

4. To develop products based on different Increase in usage of productivity among the

usage example: for photographers, app users.
developers, directors, and students etc.

Strategies for strength

• At the beginning, the company was well known for highly secure mailing system which led
them to create a highly secure encrypted mailing network. This helped the customers to
send data with encryption. This became blackberry’s unique selling proposition (USP)
feature.
• Most of the users of blackberry’s were the business owners or the persons who used it for
business as they were exclusively made for sending and receiving encrypted data. They were
most used by corporate people. This helped them compete with the competitors.
• Their high market was successful due to their data privacy feature.

Weakness
• One of the major weaknesses is they didn’t change as the trend changed among other
operating systems.
• Their applications were not updated as their competitors.
• They were expensive with less feature provided on comparing with other operating
system devices.
• It didn’t work with latest trends and what the customers want in the phone rather they
focused on their own methodology.
• It’s mainly dependant on business in contract type, through which they couldn’t get long
term contract.

Opportunities

• For designing and exclusive for students related productivity applications was in a trend
which made $500 billion, in which blackberry had great opportunity to make and
develop apps, mobiles and tablets to be a par with rest of the operating systems.
• They didn’t do mass production to and manufactured only less unit.
• They should have produced phones for every type of utility and productivity example:
for business, student, and designers.

Threats
• Rising pay level especially movements such as $15 an hour and increasing prices in
the China can lead to serious pressure on profitability of BlackBerry Limited
• Increasing trend toward isolationism in the American economy can lead to similar
reaction from other government thus negatively impacting the international sales.
• Growing strengths of local distributors also presents a threat in some markets as the
competition is paying higher margins to the local distributors.
• No regular supply of innovative products – Over the years the company has
developed numerous products but those are often response to the development by
other players. Secondly the supply of new products is not regular thus leading to
high and low swings in the sales number over period.
• Shortage of skilled workforce in certain global market represents a threat to steady
growth of profits for BlackBerry Limited in those markets.
• As the company is operating in numerous countries it is exposed to currency
fluctuations especially given the volatile political climate in number of markets across
the world.
• The company can face lawsuits in various markets given - different laws and
continuous fluctuations regarding product standards in those markets.
• New environment regulations under Paris agreement (2016) could be a threat to
certain existing product categories.

Strategies for growth

• Firstly, blackberry needs an updated management team, and new innovators to

understand the trend and requirements of the customers which will help them in
producing products as per the trend and requirements.
• Secondly, to develop different design and products like tablet and laptops as per the
usage of the professionals, students, and daily users.
• To deliver products and phones with Dolby atoms speakers, super amolded displays and
high-resolution cameras.

Reference

Blackberry Business Strategy Analysis (ukdiss.com)

BlackBerry Limited - Wikipedia

BlackBerry Limited [SWOT Analysis] Weighted SWOT Matrix (fernfortuniversity.com)