Research in Motion announced a free cloud-based service to attract small business, as the company focuses on other markets to offset lagging consumer interest in its smartphones.
The BlackBerry Management Center enables an organization to wirelessly and automatically back up data from BlackBerry smartphones on a scheduled basis and provides increased security measures to meet industry standards.
"We are pleased to introduce RIM's latest cloud service designed specifically for small businesses," said Alan Panezic, vice president of enterprise product management at RIM. "BlackBerry Management Center is a free service and an effective way to manage and support employees' BlackBerry smartphones in the cloud."
One drawback is that small and medium-sized businesses may be less likely to rely solely on BlackBerry devices, and may have a "bring your own gadget to work" policy.
However, a product that promises to help streamline management of mobile devices may have some general appeal in this struggling economy. And anything that can generate momentum for RIM may also be gladly welcomed.
In late June, RIM halted development on its BlackBerry PlayBook 2, choosing instead to focus on its "super-phones," as the struggling company tries to rebound against surging competition.
RIM hoped to rush a release of the PlayBook 2 after lukewarm sales of the initial tablet in April, but its recent troubles -- poor sales, diminishing market share and an exodus of app developers -- have made resources scarce, and impossible to continue production on both tablets and smartphones.
The retreat from the PlayBook 2 came at the same time RIM announced it was regrouping and laid off 200 workers.
The BlackBerry smartphone is languishing while the company readies its new super phones for market, which are expected early next year. If a program appealing to small and mid-sized businesses can help RIM tread water until that time, the company may just call that a success.
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