Case Study on Research in Motion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study on Research in Motion - Essay Example Problem Definition With the introduction of Apple’s iPhone in the mobile industry, it was expected that market for BlackBerry would be hit severely. Common perception was that market for mobile phones was already over-congested and any new entry could have debilitating effect on Research in Motion (RIM). Jim Balsillie, the co-CEO of RIM, also felt the emerging challenge to RIM from the new technology convergence and started planning a strategy to position his company for capturing maximum market coverage (Carayannopoulos, 2012). Jim Balsillie considered iPhone as â€Å"one more entrant into an already very busy space.† RIM’s enterprise market was the target of competitors. Balsillie wanted to pursue a strategy the like of water rafting, with the purpose of attaining, â€Å"every last dollar [he could] possibly get† in revenue but also safeguarding his ship from the â€Å"rocks† lying in the way and place the company securely (Carayannopoulos, 2012, p. 1). According to Donnelly (2011) RIM’s stay in the market could be doubtful with the arrival of other strong entrants in the marketplace. Consumers have Apple’s iPad and the latest release iPad2. Another competitor, Cisco, is also fully prepared with its integrated release of Cius tablet, offering tough competition to RIM. Problem Analysis The consumer market for RIM’s Blackberry products, namely the Blackberry â€Å"Pearl† and the Blackberry â€Å"Curve†, according to market analysts, was an intelligent move, as it would offer RIM vast consumer market full of potential customers; also the enterprise market was comparatively smaller than the consumer market. It was definite, as observed by market analysts that with the advancement in technology and increase in competition, challenges before the RIM management in the context of realizing sales targets were genuine (Carayannopoulos, 2012). Global wireless market had been showing seamless growth an d subscribers were sure to cross the 3 billion mark by the end of 2007. Wireless device users were divided in different market segments of consumer using the mobile instrument for personal use, the prosumer using it for both business and personal use, and the enterprise segment where the device was wholesomely purchased for employee use. Market was already overcrowded with players such as Nokia and Motorola possessing comprehensive brand image, financial strength, experience, and network carrier collaborations worldwide. Their handsets were cost-competitive but were deficient in some sections such as data transmission and players like Nokia had collaborations with other partners for embedding email feature in their devices (Carayannopoulos, 2012). iPhone with dimensions of 4.5 by 2.4 by .46 was available to users with one large touch-screen functionality. Various features of iPhone such as email, camera, videos, music, and internet, according to analysts, set its class distinctly in multimedia. All reviews although were not as promising, as the whole web pages could be seen as on a computer and downloading was slack due to the sluggish speed of the AT & T’s network. There were other crucial business add-on features missing such as Microsoft Office/Exchange enabling both voice and non-voice data exchange and downloading over the internet. Balsillie finds Apple’s strategy of compelling subscribers to visit Apple’s iTunes music stores for activating the phones in