BlackBerry and Samsung have agreed to sell one another’s security software. The joint effort is meant to help Samsung sell more phones and to help BlackBerry win more BES customers.
Samsung’s Knox security platform is embedded on many of its devices. It can be used to separate work and personal information, as well as secure that data on the device.
BlackBerry’s BES services allows businesses to remotely manage Android, BlackBerry, iOS, and Windows Phone smartphones. The companies think this partnership will appeal to businesses that want to use Samsung handsets for the Knox platform, but manage them via BES.
BlackBerry’s enterprise chief John Sims said the deal “isn’t about one company displacing the other. This is about one and one makes three.”
BlackBerry’s presence in the smartphone market has been reduced to practically nil in the face of stiff competition from Apple, Samsung, and others, while Samsung has long been making overtures to potential business customers.
