BlackBerry wants to be your car’s operating system. Will automakers hand it the keys?
BlackBerry Ltd. executive John Wall had an epiphany about two years ago after listening to a colleague in the auto industry complain about the high costs of developing basic software — what he called “the underwear.”
If the automaker wanted out of the business of developing this underwear, then Wall saw a golden opportunity for his company to step in and do it for them.
Today, as BlackBerry’s head of Internet of Things (IoT), he travels the world to sell auto executives on his vision of creating a basic software operating system for vehicles. If his plan takes off, it could provide a lifeline for the Waterloo-based company, which has struggled in the past decade and is now trading near an all-time low. But there are obstacles to overcome.
One kink in Wall’s plan is that many auto executives believe software could open up future revenue streams, so they are reluctant to cede control of it to a third party. To many of them, BlackBerry’s failed smartphone business stands out as a prime example of what can happen to a company that underestimates the importance of controlling its software ecosystem.
“BlackBerry was not able to survive from a handset perspective because they did not have the (software) ecosystem,” said Wall. “I think the car companies are concerned that if they miss the boat on software, and they aren’t able to generate recurring revenue around software, then somebody else will.”
But he said vehicles have become so cluttered with software and controllers that many executives recognize they need a solution, a solution he believes he has.
As a result, BlackBerry has high hopes for its IoT business. Last year, it told investors it expects the addressable market for IoT software to experience a compound annual
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