BlackBerry losing corporate clientele

The competition has grown manifold with the entry of iPhones and Android devices in the market and the supremacy of once-favorite BlackBerry is now being eroded away by rival devices.

Bank of America and Citigroup are both considering Apple’s iPhone as an alternative to the BlackBerry for corporate email.

Companies test iPhone, Android
According to a Bloomberg report, both the companies are currently testing iPhone’s software security, and are also considering Android as a corporate mobile platform. The testing may take four to six weeks and is said to involve 1,000 employees.

Reports suggest that around 50 percent of workplace devices are actually used in both personal and business contexts, and thus the “data is freely mingled.”

BlackBerry has had a decent reputation for security over the years, but other devices definitely need to be tested before they can be relied upon by major companies.

Many majors ditching BBs
The two major banking groups of America have a combined workforce of 542,000 people, and losing business with both could be a major setback for RIM.

People are delighted with their iPhones and Android phones and they want to use them for work. The result is RIM now has real competition for corporate customers.

However, neither of the two has yet made any clear declaration of abandoning the BlackBerry services. A spokesperson for Bank of America only told Bloomberg, “We continuously evaluate new and innovative technologies.”

Dell has already announced that it will be soon doing away with 25,000 BlackBerry devices used by its employees, and replacing them with its Wondows-7 based Venue Pro.

Dell explained the switch will help it save money in mobile communication costs, but RIM refused to buy that explanation, saying the PC-maker’s only intention is to publicize its own phone.

RIM counters Dell’s explanation for the switch
“We find it highly unlikely that they will actually save any money with this move and far more likely they were looking for a little free publicity,” Mark Guibert, RIM's senior vice-president of corporate marketing, said in an emailed statement.

“Plus, consider the fact that BlackBerry smartphones are far more efficient with respect to data usage, which means that their monthly service charges will also likely increase.”

RIM shares drop
RIM shares shed more than 3 percent on Friday morning as the investors feared that BlackBerry’s tight hold on corporate communications is now weakening.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS also said in September that they were considering the use iPhones or other alternatives among their employees, in place of the standard BlackBerry.

Last month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that a full 80 percent of the Fortune 500 list is testing software that will let their employees use iPhones or Android devices instead of the BlackBerrys.

“People are delighted with their iPhones and Android phones and they want to use them for work. The result is RIM now has real competition for corporate customers,” said one analyst.