BlackBerry aims for enterprise software sales growth in India by partnering with HCL Infosystems

Bogged down by disappointing smartphone sales, Canadian smartphone and enterprise software maker BlackBerry has partnered with HCL Infosystems as the national distributor of its enterprise products and solutions in India, says this report. The struggling smartphone maker was expected to make a decision on the future of its beleaguered business by September this year. CEO John Chen, however remains confident that the company will have a profitable hardware segment. The company has been consistently seen slides in sales of its devices, which include Android-based Priv. Once the smartphone industry pioneer, BlackBerry’s market share has dwindled and shares continue to disappoint. Chen said BlackBerry is working on licensing its hardware know-how like its virtual keyboard and security software, moves it sees boosting hardware segment revenue and getting it closer to profitability. Having said that, software and licensing revenue for the year came to $527 million, exceeding BlackBerry’s target of $500 million. The company said it is targeting 30 percent organic growth in that business this fiscal year. “Enterprise software and solutions is really our growth engine. Our go to market strategy has now changed, and the appointment of HCL as our national distributor for enterprise products is a part of the new strategy,” BlackBerry India’s managing director Narendra Nayak told ET. “HCL has a reach into top 3000 account and 800 channel partners that can take us to new customers.” While this move seems logical, many analysts and investors remain sceptical. “We’re looking for even faster growth,” said Brian Colello, an analyst at Morningstar had said in an earlier report , noting BlackBerry needs “exponential software growth” to complete its transformation into a stable, profitable entity.