Halliburton To Ditch BlackBerrys In Corporate Transition To Apple's iOS Platform

TORONTO (Reuters) - Oil field services company Halliburton plans to stop issuing BlackBerry smartphones to employees and switch over to Apple's iPhone, which it said was better suited to its needs, marking another setback for Research In Motion.

RIM's BlackBerry smartphones have long dominated corporate mobile communications with on-the-hip email and security credentials, but are increasingly challenged by Apple products and smartphones running Google's Android software.

"We are making this transition in order to better support our mobile applications initiatives," spokeswoman Tara Mullee Agard said in an email on Tuesday.

The Houston-based company will switch 4,500 BlackBerry-toting employees across to iPhones over the next two years, Mullee Agard said, adding that Halliburton would supply the devices. Apple is helping with the transition, she said.

Even before a major RIM outage last October left many workers without email on their BlackBerry, companies had been considering alternatives.

Last year, Credit Suisse started allowing bankers to use their Apple and Android devices on the company network - one-third of its 25,000 BlackBerry users have switched.

Barclays Capital also allows some employees to use iPhones and iPads. Standard Chartered switched from BlackBerry to iPhones for many users last year.

Companies that had previously supplied workers with a BlackBerry and paid RIM a monthly service fee can save by encouraging use of personal devices.

Yet while many large corporation say they are testing how the iPhone and other devices can handle their email and other corporate data, it is unclear how many will ultimately abandon the BlackBerry entirely.

RIM has nevertheless recognized the threat and in November announced it would offer security features for iPhone and Android from within its existing BlackBerry service for corporations.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; editing by Rob Wilson)

Comments

[jessehouk]

10:18 AM on 02/08/2012

Halliburton felt left out with phones that don't have Carrier IQ. Halliburton wants to be monitored like everyone else.

[vidtrainer110]

09:57 AM on 02/08/2012

It seems like corporate IT is largely driven by what people use at home. They eventually realize that their employees are more comfortable with what they have chosen and figure that they will leverage what their employees already know.
That said, I am surprised this is happening this soon for a couple of reasons.
1. Iphones (in spite of gorilla glass and good cases) break easily when you drop them. I am not being critical because I think they are as good as you can make them, but this is a fact.
2. Iphones are not exactly secure (l know because I provide my employees with them if they want them) and worry about there loss.
Finally, based on what we have recently learned about how Apple manufactures their goods. We have many Apple products and use their platform for multimedia web production. I am not ready to throw out my very powerful Mac Pro. Further, I am typing this on a Macbook Pro......This is a slippery slope because I am sure many other manufacturers are building their products in similar factories with similar conditions. I am thinking about it.

[helioszephyr]

12:52 PM on 02/08/2012

They're all manufacturing in China, including RIM.
Either in part or whole, no exceptions.

At least with Apple we're purchasing a US brand, who actually does manufacture their A5/6 mobile processors in Texas, not to mention 43,000 direct employees in the US.

The switch to iOS products by industry has been happening for over a year now, this just happened to catch the headline as Haliburton is a diversified multinational.
It makes sense... it's not only about the iPhone, it's the whole integrated system of tablets and laptops... able to produce apps internally for their in-field applications.

Many healthcare organizations are on it as are universities... even the FAA has approved the iPad for in-flight use for commercial pilots.

[Washington George]

10:20 AM on 02/09/2012

sorry rim makes in europe and canada.

[firelord5000]

11:22 PM on 02/07/2012

The entity I work for pitched Berrys 2 years back and switched to iPhones... just got my work iPhone 4s 2 weeks ago, still not sure if I like it more than my Evo though.

[jflorish]

11:18 PM on 02/07/2012

Other companys have also started this move to the iphone, its just that this one made the news ......

[june53]

10:01 PM on 02/07/2012

Cheney must have Apple stock and told them to ditch RIM Blackberry's.
C'est la vie. I am waiting for Zuckerberg to buy RIM and "re-invent it"
for Facebook. Or - even Google would be wise to buy it & adapt it for
use with their systems - killing two birds with one purchase & adding
valuable loyal clientele.

[firelord5000]

11:23 PM on 02/07/2012

Blackberry is dead, they didn't adapt to the changing landscape. I am sure eventually a big bidding war will break out between Google, Microsoft, and Apple to buy the treasure trove of Patents, and no, FB doesn't have the $$s to be competitive for Berry.

[june53]

09:53 AM on 02/08/2012

You are probably 100% correct, but a FB buy would really upset the 'apple cart' and take some swagger from Google. I am not sure Microsoft would be so bold, but they should pull it off, beating their competitors to the rich patent & customer base. It will interesting to watch. No?

[ObamaSupporterPete]

09:16 PM on 02/07/2012

The security of the BB system is pretty damn good. If they can assure that you have the same security when using your iPhone or Android smartphone and the BB service, that will help. I guess I'm just sentimental. BB has been around for a long time and has a good idea. I just hope they can migrate to the new platforms and still compete. I work for an international law firm and many of our attorneys and paralegals have migrated to the iPhone. I suppose the only constant is change.

[helioszephyr]

06:45 AM on 02/08/2012

While not inherently related to "security", it doesn't bolster one's confidence when their systems go down for days at a time, repeatedly.

[ObamaSupporterPete]

03:17 PM on 02/08/2012

That is an excellent point. The service outages are a serious flaw and embarrassment.

[elsquibbs]

08:21 PM on 02/07/2012

I can't believe RIM hasn't folded yet.

[Esot3ric]

09:01 AM on 02/08/2012

RIM hasn't folded because the constant negativity that you are adding to is pure media hype. They grow millions of subscribers every year. The US media is just running a hatchet job. They made 5.2 BILLION in revenue last quarter. Why would they be folding??

[elsquibbs]

11:06 AM on 02/08/2012

Media hype? I've used their crap products for years. They are terrible.

[helioszephyr]

06:59 AM on 02/09/2012

Gross revenues of $5.2 are irrelevant if they continue to operate at a loss.

It's not pure "media hype" when they're mail servers repeatedly go off line... particularly when "secure mail" is a main feature.

It's quite obvious, without media hype, that they've been asleep at the wheel for quite some time, and their loyal customers (consumer/corp) are unhappy (i.e. Haliburton)

[PatrynXX]

08:12 PM on 02/07/2012

well I suppose when Dick Cheney drops your company thats the end of the line. poorly made phones.. how it's lasted this long is beyond me. like I got burned by Syquest in the late 90's thinking they had been around since the early 80's. alas the Iomega Jaz beat them with 1/2 a gb less. (okay yes thats antique now. :P) this was when people still used 3.5 inch floppy's that didn't flop. and when I remember real 5 inch floppies and war games had them even bigger :P only way one could turn a 3.5 inch into a floppy is get mad at it and bend it :) damn magnets...

[JackTheSkipper]

07:23 PM on 02/07/2012

BB's technology is stuck in the 90's while the entire world has moved on to better and robust smart phone technologies. TV reporters and pundits used to flash their blackberry phone on TV in the late 90's. It was a status symbol. They should get rid of the blackberry server, license the active sync and redesign the phones.

[Esot3ric]

09:06 AM on 02/08/2012

This post is full of lies. The BlackBerry is modern and I challenge you to name something that it runs that is "90's technology". It has modern processors, modern cameras, a modern browser, an ap store, multi-tasking, social integration, expandable memory, micro USB, current security mechanisms, WiFI and radios to run on every network, PIM, killer email integration, OTA sync, NF (which iPhones do not have), etc. Stop lying!

[helioszephyr]

07:05 AM on 02/09/2012

... now if they could only get their servers to stay on line.

Offering the same as all other brands is not enough to compete, particularly if you're not identified for the "consumer" market, which is what drives even enterprise today. Not to mention their ill-conceived table strategy.

The nail in the coffin was the new CEO's statement that "nothing major will change" going forward... "the strategy remains the same".

[Phil Simon]

07:05 PM on 02/07/2012

The Age of the Platform is here.

[vaeho]

05:07 PM on 02/07/2012

didn't halliburton make a bundle on our war effort in Iraq/

[jmac44]

10:55 PM on 02/07/2012

Yes they made mega bucks in all of Cheney's wars... and now they will rip the American tax payer off again... giving their business to Apple.. who I understand is taking their show on the road to China.... cheap labor, no benefits, crappy merchandise.... but HUGH PROFITS...

[helioszephyr]

06:55 AM on 02/08/2012

... as opposed giving our tax dollars to a Canadian owned brand(RIM)?

Incidentally... BB's are manufactured in China... many of the same mfrs Apple and the rest rely on. At least Apple manufactures its mobile processor (A5/6) in Texas.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreycarr/2011/01/13/do-you-know-who-manufactured-your-blackberry/

[bordway]

05:06 PM on 02/07/2012

Always knew that Cheney and Co. believed in slavery.

Written on my Playbook.

[helioszephyr]

07:07 AM on 02/09/2012

Oh, you mean the same place BB makes their products? at the same manufacturers? China?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreycarr/2011/01/13/do-you-know-who-manufactured-your-blackberry/

[bordway]

07:43 AM on 02/09/2012

funny I don't see Foxcomm in there, which, if you were unaware, is the specific company that the slavery (along with multiple suicides) reference arose from. I'm sure we'll hear the same about all companies from developing nations soon

[mlambush]

04:55 PM on 02/07/2012

This is definitely something to be proud of.

[sking007]

04:52 PM on 02/07/2012

When Halliburton speaks everyone listens.

[Flight]

03:11 PM on 02/07/2012

BB's new CEO really needs to take a look around at it's competitors...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why everyone is now eating their lunch. I would like to see RIM's RD department get on the stick though before they go completely belly-up.