Canadian software firm BlackBerry Ltd has announced that it will be making its BBM cloud-based tools for messaging available to developers of enterprise apps and software.
BlackBerry confirmed that this Enterprise Software Development Kit (SDK) will be sold to these developers as the company seeks to enter the field of communications platform provision.
The kit enables developers to add real-time notifications, document sharing, video and voice calling, and encrypted messaging to the enterprise apps they build. This service from BlackBerry is available on a subscription basis, and the company stated that it could potentially let surgeons working in emergency rooms send patient-related photographs to relevant experts, in a secure fashion, using an existing app.
Executives from the firm are promoting it its robust level of security, as they look to appeal to enterprises concerned about secure communications. Marty Beard, the chief operating officer at BlackBerry, added: “This is a brand new offering focused on a different customer set, the developer partner community. Obviously, we wouldn’t be announcing it if we didn’t think it was going to be material for the company and would drive some new growth.”
The release of this product is part of the company’s bid to transition from manufacturers of hardware into providers of software for enterprises, after losing ground in the former area to competitors like Apple, Google and Microsoft.
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