Weekend rant: Should Microsoft buy RIM?

Yesterday we talked about potential buyers for Research In Motion. What was once the most profitable company in Canada keeps struggling as it faces competition from Apple, Google and its partners, most notably Samsung. Of all the companies we mentioned yesterday, we think Microsoft may be best suited to acquire the BlackBerry maker or make some other deal with them.

It?s not about technology

First of all, and as I said it before, RIM doesn?t have technology its competitors would want. Push-email was cool when BlackBerry was the only device that could handle it, but today any smartphone can do the trick. BlackBerry Enterprise Server along with other services isn?t something Microsoft is interested in as it already has its own technology (Exchange Server). So what could the Redmond giant get for its money?

It?s all about the users and expanding ecosystem

Microsoft doesn?t need RIM?s hardware business, it needs its user base. That said, perhaps they don?t need to buy the whole company, just to pay them enough money to switch to Windows Phone, like they did with Nokia. In fact, some reports suggested that Microsoft cashed out $1 billion to the Finish company to adopt the new platform. As far as I can tell, that would be a win-win scenario as far as RIM?s and Microsoft?s shareholders are concerned. BlackBerry user base is a different story ? they would hate such a deal.

But it?s not that easy

You see, Nokia has a big patent portfolio, awesome supply chain and equally impressive distribution. RIM, on the other hand, doesn?t have any of that at least not on the level comparable to Nokia. So if Microsoft would pay the Canadian company some amount to adopt Windows Phone, I?m sure it would also ask for a share of the company. Now I don?t think Ballmer & Co. should get into day-to-day operations at RIM, but they should certainly need to have a say on the company?s strategy.

RIM?s autonomy

Finally, Microsoft should leave some space to RIM to develop its own software that would run on top of Windows Phone, again just like it did with Nokia. RIM should strive to keep the BlackBerry-like user experience, while benefiting from the growing user and developer base of Microsoft?s mobile platform?

To conclude ? Microsoft could really make something out of a deal with RIM. It doesn?t necessarily need to acquire them, but to make some other arrangement that would push BlackBerry users to Windows Phone. That, of course, won?t be easy ? but Microsoft is serious about mobile and it has enough money to handle the challenge.

Any thoughts?

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

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