BlackBerry Details Secure Vision For IoT With ‘Project Ion’ M2M Platform

BlackBerry has unveiled its vision for the Internet of Things (IoT) by announcing details of ‘Project Ion’, a series of initiatives aimed at creating a secure platform for connecting devices and machines.

The Canadian manufacturer claims that the current M2M technology for IoT applications is expensive, proprietary and “confined to the boundaries of the enterprise firewall.”

It says there is a need for a secure public applications platform for the IoT that works at a global scale – and presumably turns around the company’s fortunes in the process.

BlackBerry IoT

“Billions of connections, generating trillions of transactions and exabytes of data daily, will require platforms that can operate securely on a global scale,” said BlackBerry CEO John Chen. “No other company is in a better position than BlackBerry to provide the technological building blocks, applications and services needed to enhance productivity, improve real-time decision making and deliver on the vision of the Internet of Things.”

BlackBerry claims Project Ion will offer the resources necessary to aggregate this huge amount of data and turn it into useful intelligence, using open source and third-party analytic tools. This should help businesses in the financial, health and logistics industries make better decisions.

Project Ion comprises three main components. The first is a secure public application platform powered by BlackBerry’s embedded QNX, and enterprise mobility management technology that can access this data and make informed decisions. The company says a number of selected partners will have early access to this product.

The second component is the creation of an IoT ecosystem consisting of developers, operators and partners. The third is BlackBerry’s membership of various associations dedicated to creating standards-based technology for the IoT, application development and solving issues around security and privacy.

The focus on IoT forms part of BlackBerry’s ongoing transition as it struggles to return to profitability. Its recovery plan centres around its BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) MDM platform, QNX embedded systems and eneterprise messaging services through BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).

Earlier this week it was announced that Arqiva is to build a nationwide network supporting IoT applications using ultra narrowband technology, while Neul and BT are building a city-wide M2M network in Milton Keynes.

Is this the beginning of a new dawn for BlackBerry in 2014? Try our 2013 BlackBerry quiz!