BlackBerry Says BBM Is Used by 85 Percent Of Its BES Customers

BlackBerry says 85 percent of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) customers use BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to communicate within their businesses.

BBM has enjoyed a new lease of life since the cross-platform version of the instant messaging service went live in October, with more than 20 million Android and iOS users bumping up the total user base to more than 80 million. Although it is sometimes seen as a consumer service which had a vogue amongst young people, BlackBerry’s figures suggest it’s an enterprise staple.

The instant messaging service has been a rare success story at the Canadian manufacturer, which claims businesses appreciate the security features of BBM compared to other methods of communications, especially those which still use BlackBerry handsets as they are protected from the CPU level to the operating system.

BBM Enterprise

BlackBerry says customers in regulated industries value it as an instant messaging tool because conversations can be logged, archived and audited, while it is also a secure alternative to email which might not be practical in emergency situations.

“While BBM among business customers may have started organically, we know organisations choose BBM today to improve communications and collaboration,” says Andrew Bocking, executive vice president of BBM at BlackBerry. “Employees get an amazing messaging experience that gives them immediate, active conversations with their peers, which helps drive better communications and collaboration, and improves mobile productivity.”

BlackBerry has been quick to move on the popularity of the cross-platform version of BBM, announcing yesterday it would come pre-installed on some LG phones, and launching social networking features in the form of BBM Channels.

The service has long been considered one of the company’s more valuable assets and there were even suggestions it was considering spinning off its messaging division into a subsidiary.

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