Lots of news is emerging about RIM’s continued slide and their hiring of bankers to explore strategic options. Some options are to find licensees for their technology, or even an outright sale of the company. Back in December one of my predictions for 2012 was that RIM’s efforts to reinvent themselves and their BlackBerry would fail and they would become irrelevant. I stick by my prediction and say that this will make it even harder for RIM to find any suitors to buy or license their technology at an acceptable price.
So what is the best course for this once high-flying tech powerhouse? The strategy is simple, if you can’t beat them, join them. RIM should open source the Blackberry OS. By setting it free, handset makers who want to offer enterprise-ready, secure mobile technology will have a viable alternative to Apple, Google and Microsoft. At the same time, these handset makers and other developers can give Blackberry what it lacks: more sizzle, more consumer appeal and greater app availability.