Back in 2002, the first BlackBerry phones were released (following the introduction of its two-way pager in 1999). The early 2000s period is when BlackBerry gained its new foothold in the enterprise market and expanded into consumer markets and – with a strong boost in popularity – maintained a dominant global position, even during the early days of iOS and Android platforms.
In present day, one of BlackBerry’s biggest focuses is security; specifically, critical event management and the securing of embedded systems for intelligent endpoints.
And, according to TechInsights, BlackBerry’s collective focus is paying off; per the tech analysis and market research firm, BlackBerry QNX software is now embedded in over 235 million vehicles worldwide (i.e. a year-over-year increase of 20 million).
Take, for example, Blackberry QNX Neutrino Real-Time Operating System (RTOS). This RTOS ensures performance, security and reliability for Internet of Things (IoT) mission-critical systems in automotive, as well as for robotics, industrial embedded systems, and even medical devices. QNX Hypervisor Virtualization Software, on another hand, is a solution for consolidating multiple diverse operating systems on a single embedded system-on-chip (SoC). With this software, users can also move unmodified legacy code onto the latest hardware simply by running it an appropriately configured hypervisor virtual machine.
According to Roger C. Lanctot, Director of Automotive Mobility at TechInsights, it’s the advancement of solutions like these that serve as “a testament to the ingenuity and versatility of QNX in the context of an evolving market and application space.” What’s even more impressive, as Lanctot described, is “BlackBerry's positioning at the fulcrum of multiple IoT market opportunities, as the convergence of the IoT and cybersecurity will unlock the value of the IoT across smart cities, healthcare, manufacturing, and more."
Trusted in automotive by the likes of BMW, Bosch, Continental, Dongfeng Motor, Geely, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo (with design awards from Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar Rover and others), BlackBerry delivers “foundational software for the vehicles of today and the software-defined vehicles of the future, from digital cockpits and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to infotainment systems and domain controllers.”
Additionally, BlackBerry recently announced that its BlackBerry QNX royalty backlog has increased to approximately $640 million. This represents a 14% increase over three quarters (i.e. from approximately $560 million reported at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2023). Based on this data and current projections of anticipated demand, it’s clear that BlackBerry will continue its work as a long-standing partner in automotive (and for IoT, in general).
Echoing this is BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO, John Chen:
"In 10 years, BlackBerry QNX has expanded from being in over 16 million vehicles to over 235 million today. Undoubtedly, we are the market leader for secure and safety-certified automotive software. As vehicles become increasingly software-defined our value proposition becomes even more critical to their development and the smart cities they are central to the advancement of. BlackBerry is pleased to be the long-standing and trusted partner of the automotive industry, and to be key to the emergence of a trusted smart world."
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
