There have been plenty of stories detailing why Research In Motion says it’s not afraid of Microsoft in the mobile e-mail space. While it’s true that RIM probably shouldn’t fear MS too much, there are plenty of other companies it should fear — not the least of which are its carrier partners.
The threat from Microsoft is pretty simple on its face: a recent upgrade to some of its Exchange server software added push e-mail capability, meaning that a Blackberry server acting as a go-between from a corporate Exchange server to its users’ mobile devices isn’t necessary. But it’s really a little more complex. Not every enterprise uses Exchange, and of those that do, not all use the version that supports push e-mail. RIM, with good reason, shouldn’t be too scared of Microsoft.
But it’s the emerging rivals over its other shoulder it should be worried about, led by mobile operators. Without a doubt, those that sell Blackberries are happy with the increased data spending they bring. But they don’t like having to give RIM a decent chunk of change for every Blackberry subscriber, and also don’t like having their users locked in to a relatively small range of devices.
Check out the breakdown of Vodafone UK’s new business e-mail offering that uses technology from Visto. It’s cheaper for enterprises, supports a wider range of devices, and even uses less data than Blackberry. Vodafone’s giving up some data traffic revenue in exchange for (presumably) paying out less to Visto than it does to Blackberry, and also hoping for some price elasticity in that lower prices will lead to more customers. Vodafone’s also bundled in a hosted low-cost device management system that should be simpler for IT departments to handle than the similar Blackberry solution.
So how does RIM compete with Microsoft’s low price? By offering a better service. But how are these new rivals competing with RIM? By offering a better service, and a better price. That, not Microsoft, is what RIM should be scared of.
Hey Carlo…
There are two mobile email business markets: 1) mass, and 2) enterprise.
I totally agree with you with respect to #1. The mass email market is for those business people that don’t necessarily use Exchange, but need business email over POP3, etc. In this market, carriers have the advantage, with the help of companies like Visto, Seven, etc.
With respect to #2 which is most of RIM’s market, and which is dominated by Exchange, then Domino (these are the large enterprises), is where RIM must watch out. This is the market I was referring to on my post. To address this is why RIM has been licensing their technology like crazy ‚Äì see http://www.cenriqueortiz.com/weblog/MobilityLandscape/2005/10/18/RIMs-Licensing-Strategy-Why.html
I agree there is always room for improvement. I also agree the threat may not be immediate, but the threat is coming. At the same time, if we look at email, basic mobile email services are “good enough”. Imagine that Exchange get to offer push-email for real, and to global contacts, and secure connectivity, and my Nokia and other business phones have “native” support for ActiveSync. There is no need for 3rd party. No need to pay for 3rd party solutions. Please note that I have written and sold mobile email clients, and I can tell you, companies rather not have another middleware to maintain.
If you ask me today, I tend to think the killer mobile email solution is a purely client one, one that connects to the enterprise (and personal) – no or minimal middleware, etc.
Exchange is slowly but surely offering all the basic mobile email features; it is a matter of time before MSFT owns the mobility side of MSFT IT shops, again assuming handset vendors license and offer ActiveSync “natively”.
I would be concerned if I was an (enterprise-focused) mobile email middleware company.
Cheers,
CEO
Contemplating Life Without BlackBerry
December 1, 2005 Several years ago, Microsoft managed to capture the essence of imagination with a simple but effective tagline that asked , Where do you want to go today? This question suggested both possibility and individual empowerment - ideas
Contemplating Life Without BlackBerry
December 1, 2005 Several years ago, Microsoft managed to capture the essence of imagination with a simple but effective tagline that asked , Where do you want to go today? This question suggested both possibility and individual empowerment - ideas
Carlo - it’s good to see some sensible analysis of this growing market. Last year, I arrived at a similar conclusion when I asked “Can Visto Make Their Numbers?” or at least the numbers they were predicting last year.Enrique makes some great points in his comment, and I’d like to add that there’s a lot more to the enterprise market than the high-end executive stuff we’ve seen so far.I talked with two IT managers this morning, and one had a 400 device BlackBerry solution just for corporate executives. The other had over 1,000 for corporate executives and a field sales team.In comparison, I routinely see case studies for deployments of thousands of ruggedized handhelds for field service, logistics, transportation and shop floor personnel — most of these solutions are focused exclusively on enterprise applications and do not include e-mail.In these types of environments, IT professionals are looking for a solid mobile management platform to support the enterprise applications, provision policies, support devices and ultimately to provide VoIP integration. No single mobile e-mail or device management platform provides those capabilities today, and we’re looking to IMS as a potential bridge between middleware, carrier services and mobile enterprise computing environments
Contemplating Life Without BlackBerry
December 1, 2005 Several years ago, Microsoft managed to capture the essence of imagination with a simple but effective tagline that asked , Where do you want to go today? This question suggested both possibility and individual empowerment - ideas
Contemplating Life Without BlackBerry
December 1, 2005 Several years ago, Microsoft managed to capture the essence of imagination with a simple but effective tagline that asked, Where do you want to go today? This question suggested both possibility and individual empowerment - ideas that