A Legacy Brand Exits Smartphones
In a surprise move, BlackBerry turned to John Chen – an enterprise software expert from Sybase – to take the helm in late 2013. Having steered previous turnarounds, Chen moved quickly to cut costs and refocus R&D efforts.
Most importantly, BlackBerry began transitioning from selling devices to monetizing software and services. While newer phones like the KEYone continued receiving rave reviews, hardware was no longer make-or-break.