Today, BlackBerry has announced their purchase of virtual ID solution provider Movirtu, a UK startup company which offers software which allows companies to avoid paying costs incurred by employees whilst using their personal mobile smartphones.
In what seems like an attempt to better the BlackBerry Balance feature on BlackBerry 10 BES enabled devices, Movirtu’s software means a business and personal mobile phone number can be used on a single mobile phone with each separate billing for calls, text and data. Employees can basically switch from business and personal profiles (a la BlackBerry Balance) without the need of two devices and or two sim cards and each respectable party will be billed accordingly.
This startup service works on BlackBerry’s, Android devices and iOS which means BlackBerry will receive recurring revenue from business users that already using the technology. Movirtu did not disclose how many employees it currently has and the terms of the sale were also not disclosed.
John Sims, BlackBerry’s President of Global Enterprise Services said:
“Clearly this fits nicely within the strategy we have so far articulated. We are building recurring revenue streams in value-added services and providing more value to enterprises. We see [this solution] as one large and growing segment”
According to the WSJ, BlackBerry plans to use the service to offer the service to carriers in which they can provide a second voice and data plan on the devices they already sell in which will see them paying BlackBerry a monthly fee for providing the technology.
Could we see BlackBerry Balance coming for iOS and Android devices for Enteprise users in the near future? We could be.
UPDATED: Press Release is as follows:
September 11, 2014 09:00 ET
BlackBerry Acquires Movirtu to Improve Adoption of BYOD and COPE
New solution enables “split billing” for iOS, Android and BlackBerry
WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Sept. 11, 2014) – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB), a global leader in mobile communications, announced today that it has acquired Movirtu, a provider of virtual identity solutions for mobile operators that allows multiple numbers to be active on a single device. This improves device management in bring-your-own device (BYOD) and corporate owned personally enabled (COPE) environments. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
With Movirtu’s Virtual SIM platform, both a business number and a personal number can be used on a single mobile device, with separate billing for voice, data and messaging usage on each number. As a result, employees can switch between business and personal profiles easily without carrying multiple devices or SIM cards, and charges are appropriately billed to the company and the employee. Additionally, in conjunction with the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) platform, enterprise customers will be able to apply IT policies to the business number without impacting the usability of the device for personal use.
“In a BYOD and COPE world, there remain a number of efficiency and convenience challenges facing enterprises, employees and mobile operators alike,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry. “The acquisition of Movirtu complements our core strategy of providing additional value added services, and it will leverage our key assets, including our BES platform, along with our existing global infrastructure which is connected to a large number of mobile operators around the world.”
The acquisition complements BlackBerry’s Secure Work Space, BlackBerry Balance and other partitioning technologies, which give employees the freedom and privacy they want for their personal use while delivering the security and management needed for business use. With Movirtu, employees can switch between profiles for calls, data and messages, while on their home network and in roaming situations.
“BlackBerry is the best partner to help us carry forward our vision of redefining the mobile experience by introducing virtual identities,” said Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO, Movirtu. “We address the challenges of BYOD and COPE by providing our unique and innovative technology solution through BlackBerry’s existing relationships with mobile operators and customers around the world.”
The new Virtual SIM capabilities will be offered by BlackBerry through mobile operators to provide customers with multiple identity based service offerings. BlackBerry will support the deployment of Movirtu technology by mobile operators on all major smartphone operating systems.
Source: WSJ and UK Reuters, Marketwired