BlackBerry to be crushed by Microsoft and Nokia, says IDC

Stuart Corner
Friday, 29 September 2006 04:08

IT Industry - Deals

The enterprise market for converged mobile devices still ha tremendous growth potential but dominant player BlackBerry will have great difficulty sustaining its dominance in the face of competition from others, especially Microsoft and Nokia says IDC.

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IDC expects enterprise converged mobile device shipments to reach 63 million units worldwide by 2010, up from 7.3 million in 2005, and it says that while the Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry has become the gold standard for the enterprise device market, it believes Microsoft's involvement with Motorola, Palm, and others, as well as Nokia's commitment to an end-to-end strategy could weaken RIM's stronghold in the enterprise market.

"Several BlackBerry clones have previously attempted to challenge RIM's reign in the enterprise market, but this is a more formidable strike," says Sean Ryan, research analyst for IDC's Mobile Markets. "The timing is right for a more powerful attack against RIM's BlackBerry as competitive forces converge."

"RIM is the undisputed market leader in the enterprise with more than 5.5 million subscribers worldwide and FY06 sales around $US2 billion. But after nearly eight years, RIM is now challenged with defending its leading position as other vendors emulate its offerings," IDC says.

IDC believes Nokia and Motorola are in strong positions because of their leadership in the overall mobile phone market, giving them influence as well as key positions within the value chains to challenge the work of RIM.