Research in Motion (RIM), known for the BlackBerry smartphone brand, was founded in 1984 and rose to success through innovation in secure mobile devices for businesses. However, RIM failed to keep up with the iPhone's innovations and lost significant market share. While RIM attempted damage control by broadening its focus beyond businesses, it was overtaken competitively. Now renamed BlackBerry, the company is pursuing new strategies like the Priv Android phone and IoT solutions to revive its fortunes.

1. RESEARCH IN
MOTION
A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE

2. Research in Motion (RIM) , a Canadian telecomm
company, is best known for the BlackBerry brand
of smart-phones and tablets.

3. Through the
Hourglass
Story of Research in
Motion

4. 1984 - 1992
• Founded by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin
• Jim Balsilie joins as co-CEO in 1992

5. 1996
• RIM introduces Inter@ctive Pager
1st wireless handheld messaging device
• Establishes itself as innovation leader

6. 1997
RIM listed on Toronto Stock Exchange
and goes public.

7. 1998
• Introduction of 1st BlackBerry.
• Started the rage of wireless, portable
devices.

8. What are it
Core Brand
values?

9. SECURITY

10. PRODUCTIVITY

11. RELIABILTY

12. TargetCustomer
segment:
Business class

13. Marketed
itself as a
workforce
“Must
Have”.

14. The Blackberry
Boom

15. Why they rose

16. Innovation Spearhead
BlackBerry continuously innovated its products to provide
the businessmen, govt. agencies high-security capabilities
and essential business features.
Its top-notch secure communication channels were the
vantage points.

17. End-to-End solution provider
Rim developed and produced hardware as well as software
and services that made the BlackBerry line of products
work.

18. Partnerships with carriers
As RIM expanded, it realised the need to partner with
multiple carriers instead of one.
This gave 2 major advantages:

19. 1.Breaking Geographical Boundaries
Consumers anywhere in the world could buy a
BlackBerry without worrying about breaking
existing carrier contract.

20. 2. Provided unique products for different
carriers and audiences
This added to the expansion of product depth and
gave a variety of choices to the consumers. It also
licensed its architecture to third party devices,
making BB wireless solutions available to other
companies.

21. 2007
Introduction of iPhone and
Decline of an Empire

22. This says it all!

23. What
went
wrong
?

24. Negligence to
Innovation
Imperative
RIM was still riding on the success of catering to the
business class and the promise of providing secure
modes of communication in handheld devices.
Not long after it was soon trailing Apple in terms of
market share in US even though in 2007 it had
registered 1 million subscribers, the same year iPhone
was launched.

25. Ineffective Competitor Research
It grossly ignored and underestimated the innovative designs that iPhone came with. RIM
executives thought their loyal business class cared more for productivity and security, which was
proven wrong.

26. Damage-Control
Mode

27. Introduction of BB Bold
RIM which was the leader of smartphone industry was forced to become
a late-entry product manufacturer when it came with BlackBerry Bold.
This was supposed to be RIM’s answer to Apple iPhone.
It received a lukewarm response as it was commercialized wrongly. It
neither catered to the Innovator sector nor the Early majority and thus
lost huge market share.

28. RIM launched its first Mass advertising campaign to project
Blackberry for not just the business class, rather or everybody.
It included customer needs into its products like photo, video
and music capabilities, touch screen pads.

29. Its well-received “BlackBerry Boys” ad very well displays its attempt to
appease the diverse customer segments.

30. 2013
RIM introduces the much-awaited and delayed BlackBerry10,
which was the most mass-friendly smartphone till-date.
Though it still came with the BB OS, its featured were not
business-centric as before.
RIM also changed its name to BlackBerry.
Sales revived and BlackBerry again started gaining its
foothold back.

31. The Way
Forward

32. Introduction of BB Priv
BlackBerry has introduced Priv, its first smartphone to support
multi-OS and not come with its in-house BB OS.
BlackBerry is still keeping its core values of security and
productivity intact.

33. IoT Applications
BlackBerry is now foraying into providing IoT solutions to companies
like Data Intelligence, Cloud services etc.

34. • History of Research in Motion (RIM)
• How RIM rose
• What were its core brand values
• Why did RIM decline
• What is the way forward

35. Disclaimer
This presentation is created by Swati Samikshya Sahoo, NIT
Rourkela as a part of the internship process under Prof.
Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow.