Research In Motion - Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance

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Hi-Tech Strategy Formulation
Dr. Tom Koplyay
Presented by:
Chris Hamad
Dix Lawson
Tarek Radi
Decmeber 17th, 2002
Research In Motion
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High-Level Agenda
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Overview and Financial Highlights of RIM
The Wireless Market
RIM’s Family of Products
Customer Profile
Corporate Leadership & Culture
Competitive Analysis
Financial Analysis
SWOT, SPACE, BCG, Porter, Dupont Formula,
& Vector Growth Analyses
RIM’s Stock Situation
Current News and Issues
December 17th, 2002
Chris, Dix, & Tarek
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Overview of RIM
• Founded 1984
• Head Office & Manufacturing Facility in
Waterloo, Ontario
• Offices in Ottawa (R&D), Mississauga, and
United Kingdom
• Primary Product: Electronic Content Pagers
• Market Leader in Wireless e-mail
• Total of 1950 Employees
• President, co-CEO: Michael Lazaridis
• Chairman, co-CEO: James Balsillie
December 17th, 2002
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RIM Financial Highlights
Based on last 12 months ending Oct 2002 - All figures in $US
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RIMM on NASDAQ, RIM on TSX
78,790,747 outstanding shares
Share Prices (NASDAQ, Dec 2002: US$14.73)
52-week Range: $8.35 - $29.55
Avg. trading volume (NASDAQ): 1,560,909
Institutional Ownership: 50.2%
Market Capitalization: $1.133 Billion
Net Sales: $282 Million
Income: -$39.9 Million
Debt/Equity Ratio: 0.01
Net Profit Margin: -14.10%
Earnings per share: $ -0.51
Revenue per share: $3.66
December 17th, 2002
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Wireless Market
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Wireless Services (Voice, Data, Pagers,
Wireless LANs, Wireless WANs)
Handheld Devices (PDA revolution)
Functionality
Advantages
Internet Integration
Software Support
RIM’s Introduction of Blackberry
December 17th, 2002
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•Wireless is the one of the hottest markets and is expected to continue to grow as
support for new services keeps growing. The cellular phone market is a classic
example of how a small market limited to frequent travelers has grown so much in the
last 5 years to appeal to almost the entire population. The driving forces behind it is the
technology and how far it has come, the industry standards that are in place, and the
affordability of the services.
•Most cellular providers now support some form of text messaging
•Wireless LANs that allow people to carry their laptops and get wireless Internet
access at conventions, conferences, airports and coffee shops (e.g. Starbucks) is
another example of the popularity of wireless products. Wireless WANs connect
buildings through wireless devices and save organizations money on network
extensions.
•Another aspect of the Wireless Market was reinforced by the huge market of Personal
Digital Assistants (PDAs) that have become so popular for many people especially
with the application support they received over the last few years.
•Wireless Consumers have been demanding more functionality as they have become
accustomed to relying on their services.
•The advantages of Wireless products are obvious: convenience, Less restrictive (no
cables), anywhere and everywhere
•Internet support for Wireless products has contributed to their attractiveness with
services for web banking and up-to-the-minute news updates powered by Wireless
services (based on WAP and other standards) for handheld devices.
•When RIM introduced their Blackberry pager, it seemed like a simple enough idea,
but its popularity spread like wild fire. The product appealed to innovators who were so
reliant on e-mail and wanted to be connected at all times. The portability of the small
device packed with many wireless options and a cute keyboard made addicts out of
thousands of users. Today RIM boasts the largest market share for wireless e-mail
with an estimated 400,000 users.
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Product Overview
December 17th, 2002
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•Sample products from RIM, from left to right:
ØBlackberry 950
ØBlackberry 5810
ØEmbedded Radio Modem
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Products
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Blackberry Handheld devices
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Hardware
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Software
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Voice Enabled
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Blackberry Enterprise Servers (BES)
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Client Licensing
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Embedded Radio Modems
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§RIM’s current product list is still heavily focused on the Blackberry product and its
supporting cast. Their popular 950 and 957 Blackberry pagers with the standard
features including text e-mail are still hot.
§The newer Blackberry models (5810, 6710, 6720, 6750) offer additional functionality
such as voice capabilities (phone) electronic calendaring, and attachment viewing.
§The magic behind the Blackberry pager is the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)
which is the main piece of the infrastructure. The BES interacts with the corporate email servers and allows for the extension of the mail services (including the
calendaring) by MS Exchange & Lotus Notes to be extended to the Blackberry
wireless device.
§In addition to the (North America) popular CDMA and the new 1x standards, the
Wireless network support has been extended to GSM/GPRS which is dominant in the
rest of the world. In Canada, Bell Mobility and Telus offer the 1x service, while Rogers
offers the GPRS.
§RIM is also getting into licensing their Blackberry software to other vendors including
competitors (Nokia) to run on other products. Not only is this a steady source of
income, but it also reinforces their market leader position.
§Recently, RIM released their Embedded radio modem that allows third-party
manufacturers to make wireless devices using RIM’s technology. These devices may
include: consumer electronics, Interac terminals, biomedical devices, etc.
§When corporate customers buy RIM, they have to buy the RIM pagers, BES, service
through service provider (who pays royalty to RIM), and licensing.
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Customer Profile
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RIM current customers
Ø Mostly corporate
Ø Roaming Users
Ø Early Adapters
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Geographical Reach fuelled by technology
support for CDMA, GMS, and other standards
Ø North America
Ø Europe
Ø Asia Pacific
December 17th, 2002
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•As the product & associated service tends to be very pricey for individuals, the appeal
for the Blackberry pagers is mainly for corporate users. As mentioned earlier, users
have to pay for the device, licensing, backend servers, support/maintenance, and
network service (whose charges depend on how much data is transmitted).
•The product is targeted towards users who travel or roam a lot and are unable to
check their e-mail which happens to be a crucial piece of their daily communication.
With the Blackberry product, they stay connected and are able to stay up-to-date on
any issues going on at the office.
•Nonetheless, there are many individual Blackberry users who sign up for a service
through the service providers and get their personal e-mail on their pagers.
•Whether it is corporate or individuals, users still fall in the Early Adopters category as
the RIM pagers are not main stream yet. They are making headway going in that
direction with additional functionality and application support.
•By extending their support to different standards (GPRS, 1x), RIM’s market is
expanding to cover Europe and Asia Pacific, even though their main market is still
North America.
•On September 11th, after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the
phone systems (land and cellular) were jammed from over-usage, however RIM users
(using the Data networks) were able to continue communicating as usual. This
increased the popularity of RIM products since they became viewed to provide reliable
service. Today, almost every Congressman, Senator, and their staff are using RIM
pagers as an alternative way to stay connected.
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Suppliers/Partners
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Support for GSM & CDMA Voice and DataTAC,
Mobitex, & GPRS Data Networks
United States
Canada
Europe
AT&T Wireless
VoiceStream
Nextel
Verizon
Motient Corporation
Cingular Interactive
Rogers
Bell Mobility
T-Mobile
O2
Vodafone
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Alliances & Partnerships with Telecommunication
Providers, and HW & SW Vendors
December 17th, 2002
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•Blackberry’s popularity has made it an attractive product to service for many Internet
and telecommunication service providers. With support for many standards such as
CDMA, GSM, GPRS, 1x, .. Many providers were able to leverage their existing
networks (overlaying networks – SW upgrades not infrastructure) to provide attractive
services for corporate and individual clients.
•Much like mobile phones, these providers also sell the actual product Blackberry
pagers and act as service providers and channel distributor for RIM.
•RIM has established partnerships with many service providers in North America,
Europe and Asia Pacific. They also signed agreements with software vendors to
support their platform (e.g. Cognos, SAP, Palm, Remedy, MS, IBM, Entrust, Sun, to
name a few)
•On the value chain, since RIM manufactures their own hardware (with very few
exceptions, e.g. pager screens), they are at the lower end of the chain and therefore
are not pressured by suppliers (h/w). They also build the software applications to
support the hardware they produce.
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Leadership
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Senior Leadership
Michael Lazaridis President, Director, co-CEO
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Founder of Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), oversees all product
development and operations at RIM and is responsible for the
development and ownership of several patents
James Balsillie Chairman of the Board, co- CEO
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Leads design, manufacturing and marketing of the digital
wireless transmission of data and access to the Internet.
Balance of the leadership team provides growth
management
Success is leading the management team style from
Entrepreneurial toward Managerial as the company
matures with growth and customer base expands
past early adapters
December 17th, 2002
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•Mike Lazaridis – founder of RIM, overlooks all product development and operations
at RIM and is responsible for the development of several patents for Digisync,
software code, and radio technologies. He has received the following awards
•Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 Award (1999),
•New Technology Development Award (1997 National IWAY Awards),
•the High-tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1996),
•the CATA award for best high-tech product (1995),
•an Emmy award (1994)
•Technical Achievement Academy Award (1998) for designs in computer film
editing equipment, and designed industrial communications cards that won the
Canada Award for Business Excellence (Innovation-1992).
His wireless technical achievements include:
•BlackBerry, the first complete, wireless email solution for accessing corporate
email and PIM from a single handheld;
•the world’s first two-way interactive pagers for the Mobitex and DataTAC
nationwide wireless data networks;
•world’s first PCMCIA Type II wireless radio modem for the Mobitex wireless
data network;
•and the world’s first integrated wireless terminals for Point-Of-Sale credit-card
and debit-card applications.
Jim Balsillie – Chairman and Co-CEO of RIM. A graduate of the University of Toronto
and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, Mr. Balsillie is also a
Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO).
•Both are entrepreneurs, yet by adding more directors with managerial skills, there is a
balance between the entrepreneur leadership and general management leadership.
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Leadership
December 17th, 2002
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•RIM was founded in 1984 and by 1997 it was approaching maturity in its market. The
introduction to market in 1997 of the Blackberry handheld devices was the work of
entrepreneurial spirit and drive. The Blackberry generated significant market demand
from the early adaptors especially during and following 9/11. The maturing market
demand has meant a shift in the company management style as additional directors
have been brought on board to help connect the functional areas of manufacturing and
sales and create a greater coordinated effort to meet market demand. The original
entrepreneurs are still in position of leadership, therefore the company is currently
viewed as being in a shift from entrepreneur to managers with greater internal
processes demands and experience.
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Corporate Culture
Internet Company-type
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l Fast-paced Development Environment
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l Informal
l Product-functional teams
l Centralized Decision-making
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•Examples of product functional teams: Blackberry 6710 team specifically developing
for Bell Mobility at the Ottawa location
•A relatively small company slowly maturing relies on centralized decision-making
procedures
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Competitive Analysis
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Main Competitors
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New Entrants
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Motorola
Handspring
Nokia
Good Technology
Microsoft (Smartphone)
Dell
RIM’s Market Share
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Very high market share – 62%
First to market – Pioneer
December 17th, 2002
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•Motorola – Large communications company that manufactures and sells a diverse
line of electronic equipment and components. Products include communications
systems, semiconductors, electronic engine controls and computer systems. Market
Cap: $22.02 Billion
•Handspring – small company, direct competitor, second to market, equipment
loaded on Palm, 15% of market. Handspring is engaged in personal communications
and handheld computing. Products include the Treo wireless communicators and Treo
90 organiser, Visor expandable handheld computers and client and server software for
fast Web access. Market Cap: $171 Million
•Nokia – Very Large communications company that supplies telecommunications
systems and equipment, and is engaged in the development, manufacture and
delivery of mobile phones, and mobile, fixed and IP networks. Market Cap: $81.5
Billion
•Good Technology – A tiny private company with less than 5% of the market. Good
Technology develops wireless software, services and handhelds that “provide mobile
professionals with a wireless connection to their corporate email and information”.
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Product Lifecycle Analysis
RIM
Market Push
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Market Push - first to market strategy, optimize channels,
focus on customers & competitors, branding (Blackberry
well known)
Client base - Early adaptors stable, moving to higher market
share and greater potential market as first to market,
shakeout imminent
Core Competencies/Capabilities
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Pioneers
Innovation
Economies of S - Scope, Scale and Synergy
December 17th, 2002
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•Market Push - Though RIM is some 18 years old now, it is only since 1997 when
Blackberry was introduced that the company began dynamic growth. The company
maintains a first to market situation and is deeply engaged in the strategies that
support its position. Its market share is large, it has the added value of branding as it is
well known for its capabilities as associated with the unique name Blackberry. Its early
to market following is strong and new products are easily sold to this group. The
company is focussed on their competitors as evidenced by lawsuits they have
engaged in to protect their patents and alliances formed with Nokia.
•Client Base - The client base is early adaptors who maintain the company sales. The
company is moving to expand its market ahead of it competitors. While the potential
market is significant it remains to be seen whether devices such as Blackberry can
penetrate the much larger business market to become an everyday usable device. A
shakeout is imminent as competitors are struggling to maintain the pace set by RIM.
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Financial Ratio Profile
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December 17th, 2002
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•Profitability = Very low since RIM is still reporting losses despite very good revenues.
This is typical of a company moving from early growth and attempting to defeat its
opponents by winning the biggest market share through shakeout.
•Liquidity = About right
•Leverage = Balanced
•Activity = The activity ratios indicate potential for improvement in inventory turnover
and accounts receivables.
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BCG Growth Share Matrix
RIM
December 17th, 2002
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After obtaining some valuable financial data on RIM, it was evident that RIM is
currently generating good revenue, with a potential for significant increase in the near
future. However, this revenue has not translated into any profit yet. RIM is currently a
Star organization, having its main product lines in an industry with a high rate of
growth, and fortunately entered this market early in the game and currently has the
largest market share in this industry.
With the anticipated growth in the near future, and the increasing revenue generated
from licenses, we envision that RIM’s handheld business will potentially become a
cash cow.
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SWOT Analysis
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Internal Strengths
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Diverse distribution channels
Joint Ventures with service providers
Strong R&D team with lots of innovative ideas
Cross platform software capability
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Internal Weaknesses
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External Threats
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RIM has no cash cow projects to backup star projects
Competitive products
Lawsuits
External Opportunities
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Product features appeal to clients (first to market)
Global growth and expansion
Licensing (e.g. the Nokia deal)
Brand loyalty
Third party application developers
December 17th, 2002
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Internal Strengths
Currently, the hand held devices that RIM produces are not sold directly by RIM. Instead, RIM
has an intricate and sophisticated distribution channel with its service providers. End users,
wishing to buy a Blackberry for example, can only buy it from service providers such as Rogers,
Telus , etc, which then charge these end users a fee for the activation and service provided to
this device. Without the service there would be very limited use to these devices, and a strong
relationship with these providers is essential and a strength that RIM shows. This is one of
RIM’s core capabilities.
The devices being produced are very complicated and RIM has the core competency of very
strong R&D with lots of innovative ideas. Not only is the hardware designed and manufactured
by RIM, the software on these devices is also developed. RIM provides the capability for thirdparty companies to develop and provide software applications that run on the RIM hand held
devices and they do that by supplying an Application Programming Interface (API).
Internal Weaknesses
RIM finances its handheld projects primarily using debt from banks and equity from share
holders, instead of cash from other money-making projects/products in the organization.
External Threats
Lots of competitors are entering this luscious market of hand held devices since the barriers of
entry are prohibitive for big players. Other competition has stemmed from companies providing
similar products. All these competitors are a threat to RIM.
External Opportunities
Because RIM was first to this market, and some of its product features appealed to many end
users, this has provided a strong brand loyalty. RIM has patented some of its product features,
and is licensing competitors such as Nokia to use its patents as well as its software, since these
two have become de facto standard in this industry. Also, the API it has developed, means
there is more programs for end users to download and run. The more applications are available,
the more attractive the product is and the more widely used it becomes. Partnerships with other
vendors and ISP’s are key success factors for RIM.
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SPACE Analysis
December 17th, 2002
Chris, Dix, & Tarek
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•Based on the market data we obtained, we have determined that RIM is advancing in its
product lifecycle and is showing signs of maturity. This is in line with the findings of the
SPACE analysis which is shown here. We see RIM starting to play an aggressive and
cost leadership role, rather than its initial competitive strategy.
•We believe that during the early phases of the life cycle for RIM’s hand held devices, the
company adopted mainly a competitive strategy, trying and succeeding in differentiating
its products from others on the market, creating a market niche that it absolutely
dominated, and has created some barriers of entry for competitors without deep pockets.
With the promising future of this market, and these barriers that are impossible to
overcome, big-name competitors are jumping in and RIM is in turn starting to adopt an
aggressive role, in which it is cutting its costs and aiming for profitability. RIM is maturing
and preparing for the imminent future shakeout in this market of hand held devices. Its
biggest weapon is the product popularity and continuous innovation.
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Return on Assets – Dupont Formula
Sales
294,053,000
Costs of goods sold
195,493,000
plus
minus
Costs
335,298,000
Operating Expenses
139,805,000
EBIT
(41,245,000)
Divided by
Sales
294,053,000
Inventories
37,477,000
Earnings as %
of sales
(14%)
Multiplied by
Return on
Assets
(4.62)
plus
Sales
294,053,000
Accounts Receivable
42,642,000
plus
Cash
644,559,000
Current Assets
724,678,000
Divided by
Asset Turnover
.33
Total Assets
876,521,000
plus
plus
Prepaid Expenses
0
December 17th, 2002
Fixed Assets
151,843,000
Chris, Dix, & Tarek
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•As a further financial analysis of RIM the team applied the Dupont Formula as
indicated in Chapter 8 of the Strategic Planning course reference book. The financial
numbers used are from RIM 2001 annual data.
•Overall the negative ROA is in line with the other financial indicators and it should be
expected that it will stay this way for some time as the company expands its market.
•The negative EBIT is consistent with other financial indicators and supports the
position that RIM “top line” activities are still higher than its “bottom line”. This is
indicative of the company’s expanding growth and attempts to solidify its market base
and bury its competitors. Assuming the company maintains its market position and
survives shakeout the EBIT should move to a profit situation as the product lifecycle
reaches maturity and sales increase. Any move by the company to reduce its
operating expenses now will also help it to reach bottom line sooner than later. There
are indications elsewhere that RIM is attempting to cut operating expenses by
expanding its leadership team to include more process orientated managers.
•The asset turnover is consistent with the RIM’s market position and strategies. As
EBIT improves the company should also be moving to reduce its inventories and
accounts receivable in order to produce whole number asset turnover ratios.
Measures to be taken by management to improve EBIT should also be applied to
asset turnover to improve the ROA.
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Growth Vector Analysis
Product Alternatives
Present Products
Existing
Market
CDMA for Text only
Devices
North
e.g. 950, 957
America
Improved Products New Products
Text & Voice, security
Features, attachment
Support.
e.g. 5810, 6710, 6720
OEM Modems
Expanding GPRS & GSM to
Market
expand to Europe
New
Market
Expanding to
Asia Pacific
Region
December 17th, 2002
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•RIM started off with the Blackberry 950 and 957 models which were primarily text only
devices. It then improved its products and added attachment support, encryption (S/MIME)
support, PKI support, and voice functionalities. The recent 5810,6710,6720 and 6750
models offer these capabilities, and more recently, RIM started to develop new products
such as Wireless embedded modems for 3rd party products. Therefore, RIM is adopting a
product improvement strategy.
•It is also adopting a market growth strategy since it started at first to target the North
American market with its CDMA products. It then expanded into Europe with its GSM and
GPRS capable devices, and is currently targeting the Asia Pacific markets.
GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. It is a step between GSM and 3G cellular
networks. It offers faster data transmission via a GSM network within a range 9.6Kbits to
115Kbits. It makes it possible for users to make telephone calls and transmit data at the
same time. (For example, if you have a mobile phone using GPRS, you will be able to
simultaneously make calls and receive e-mail massages.) The main benefits of GPRS are
that it reserves radio resources only when there is data to send and it reduces reliance on
traditional circuit-switched network elements.
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Porter’s Analysis
Substitutes
Suppliers
Hand-Held
Market
RIM
Customers
New Entrants
December 17th, 2002
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•Because of the profile of the target customer, which is an early adaptor, this market is
relatively price in-elastic. The change in the price of the product does not cause a significant
change in the demand of the product. We saw several cases in which the client preferred
the latest and more expensive model. Thus the market has a high level of influence on the
customer and the customer has a much lower influence on the market (basically the
influence is by some customers requiring additional features)
•There are almost no suppliers to RIM for this market, since they design, manufacture and
program all their devices. Thus the level of influence of the suppliers and on the suppliers is
minimal.
•Substitute products such as cell phone and PDA’s have a medium influence on this market,
mostly in the form of functionality. If a phone has a new functionality, chances are the handheld device will catch up and get similar functionality designed into it. However, this market
has a larger influence on these substitute products. More and more, the functionality of the
hand held devices is starting to appear on cell phone for example
•Several new entrants are appearing (including Microsoft as of late with Smartphone).
Handspring has produced Treo - a product with striking similarities to some BlackBerry
features (RIM sued HandSpring over patent violations). This fact proves that the new
entrants do have an influence over the hand-held market. Analysts did not react much to
these threats (as opposed to concerns about RIM’s earnings) indicating that this influence is
medium in impact and not strong. However, just like substitutes, the hand-held market has a
major influence on the new entrants, who keep trying to provide the same functionality and
more at a lower price. The threat from big players could be problematic as they can afford to
lose money to capture market share.
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RIM’s Stock Performance
December 17th, 2002
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•At the peak of the hi-tech/Internet market, RIM’s shares reached $150. As the rest of
the stocks fell, so did RIM’s but it had many come backs over the last 2 years and due
to new product functionalities, and a growing wireless market. Their 52-week range is
$8.35 – $29.55 (NASDAQ), and they are currently hovering around the $14 mark.
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Analyst Ratings
*Source: CNBC December 15th 2002
December 17th, 2002
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•Another indication that analysts are concerned about RIM’s lack of profit, even though
they realize the potential of the Wireless handheld market.
•In an economy that has been struggling for a while, and an IT stock market that has
been battered since 2000, RIM has held its grounds and exploited the niche market it
carved out and dominated. The analyst ratings have had some effect on the
company’s strategy (recent layoffs, streamlining of operations, cost cutting measures).
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Current News and Issues
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Separate Lawsuits against Good Technology and
Handspring for patent violation
Lost a lawsuit against Patent Licensing firm HPT
Inc. Analysts do not think it is a problem
Voice-Data service – Verizon
Major licensing agreement with rival Nokia (shares
up 30%)
Radio modems for GSM/GPRS networks received
regulatory certifications in North America, Europe
and Asia Pacific
December 17th, 2002
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•RIM filed lawsuits against Good Technology and Handspring for violating patents owned by the
company. RIM has patented almost every aspect of their popular pagers including the keyboard,
screen, interface, encryption methods, wheel, etc.. Handspring and RIM just forged an agreement to
license RIM’s software on Handspring devices. If Handspring fulfills its end of the agreement, RIM
agreed to drop the lawsuit against it.
•RIM just lost a patent lawsuit against a legal firm called HPT Inc. worth $20 million. Although RIM
vowed to appeal the court’s decision, analysts do not think it is a worrisome sign. The plaintiff is not in
a position to hurt RIM’s future product development with the ruling.
•RIM recently landed a big Voice Data service through Verizon (largest Wireless provider in the US) in
support of the voice activated Blackberry pagers (5810, 6710)
•Realizing the popularity of RIM’s software, Nokia, one of RIM’s rivals and a market leader in the
mobile industry, caved in and agreed to license RIM’s software on their new cellular phones. As a
result, RIM’s shares shot up 30% in one day, and many analysts upgraded their stock. The
agreement allows RIM to charge royalty for every user of a Nokia phone ($7/month) fitted with certain
Blackberry features (similar to Qualcom’s CDMA licensing). This licensing deal is a strong
endorsement that RIM has strong technological advantages over others. It also opens up the
European market for RIM where wireless customers use a popular s hort messaging service (SMS).
•RIM’s radio modems have received the certification blessing for GSM/GPRS in Europe, Asia Pacific
after the initial N American certification. This opens up the doors for 3rd party vendors using RIM’s
hardware for these markets.
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Current News and Issues
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RIM planning “Blackberry on a Chip” product to be
sold to potential 3rd-party vendors
RIM and Nextel introducing a phone ($500) with
Blackberry keyboard and screen (Dec 2002)
Sales in Fiscal Quarter ended Sept 1, Sales of
Blackberry Fell 42% to $55 Million
Service Revenue from Blackberry Subscribers rose
58% to $60 Million
Workforce Reduction of 10% (Nov 02)
New Blackberry software supports PKI Encryption,
Digital Signatures, and Attachment viewing
December 17th, 2002
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•To go a step further after the embedded modems (usually used in large devices), RIM has
announced they are working on producing Blackberry on a chip to be used in third party products.
This will enable device manufacturers to make small devices powered by the Blackberry chip.
•The big advantage of licensing Blackberry to phones is that ISP’s subsidize the cellular phones (not
the case with Blackberry pagers). This could mean more sales for RIM.
•The decline in sales was offset by more revenue from service charges. The introduction of new
features is expected to boost sales in the near future.
•Workforce down from 2200 to 1950 in a streamlining process aimed to please analysts and aim for
profitability sooner rather than later.
•In addition to voice capabilities, the 6710, 6720, 6750 models now provide PKI support to encrypt
and sign mail messages based on digital certificates. They also allow users to view attachments (not
available previously) in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF formats with selective options (whole
document, table of contents, particular sections).
25
Strategic Profile: Design Factors
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Sustainability - Robust and able to continue market growth
Uniqueness - 1st to Market, maintaining significant lead
Value Added - Yes
Enhancement - NIL
Flexibility - Average as past early cycle & focus on niche
product
Stability - Able to respond to strategic direction
Fit - Good fit, underlying procedures support
Performance - Average
Consistency - Very good, reflective of company in growth
mode
Stretch - Company leaders challenging all to retain market
lead
December 17th, 2002
Chris, Dix, & Tarek
26
26
Thanks for your Time
December 17th, 2002
Chris, Dix, & Tarek
27
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