UPDATED 01:30 EDT / JULY 23 2015

NEWS

BlackBerry furthers enterprise push with Athoc acquisition

BlackBerry Ltd. is continung its Phoenix-like rise from the ashes with the acquisition of AtHoc Inc., a provider of secure, networked crisis communications to enterprises and government organizations.

The deal was announced late Wednesday, and sees BlackBerry acquire a powerful tool as it looks to bolster its own secure messaging services. AtHoc’s software is essentially a messaging alerts system, but its designd for organizations that need to send sensitive or critical data between devices, people and other organizations. It’s also designed for emergency use, when other forms of communication might be unavailable, and supports most major platforms and devices, including Android, iOS, PCs and Mac computers.

BlackBerry’s decision to acquire AtHoc once again highlights its laser-sharp focus on the enterprise, as it leverages its security expertise to produce software and tools catered especially for governments and highly regulated industries. AtHoc’s networked communications services are employed by numerous high-profile customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

While BlackBerry gets an obvious boost with the addition of these marquee clients, it’s also planning to give AtHoc’s software a powerful boost by integrating it with its own BBM messenger.

Those plans were revealed by BlackBerry COO Marty Beard in an interview with Inside BlackBerry, who said a marriage of the two services would be a natural fit.

“BlackBerry is focused on enhancing our capabilities in security, privacy and the Internet of Things,” Beard said. “We’re making the move to acquire AtHoc, because we knew we could take a government-grade, secure software platform meant for crisis communication and enhance it with our current enterprise portfolio and trusted global network.”

Beard also revealed that Blackberry’s intention was to make crisis management an integral part of the Internet of Things.

“For example, today the AtHoc platform integrates with endpoints such as sirens, fire panels and speakers,” Beard explained. “A sensor in a fire panel, for example, could trigger an alarm, at which point the platform notifies users of the issue via mobile devices. Or, an alert triggered by the user and pushed via the AtHoc platform can sound an alarm to notify people in the area of an issue.”

BlackBerry also plans to use the AtHoc platform as a foundation for more applications it plans to build. These new apps might include an integration of AtHoc with BBM Meetings during alerts, enabling live video feeds. Alternatively, it could help to transmit real-time messages between key decision makers.

AtHoc is just the latest in a string of niche enterprise security firms BlackBerry has acquired. Last April it snapped up WatchDox, a secure sync-and-share solution for enterprises, while last year BlackBerry acquired German mobile security firm Secusmart.

BlackBerry said the AtHoc deal should be finalized during its fiscal third quarter in 2016.

Photo Credit: Official BlackBerry Images via Compfight cc

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU