BlackBerry has laid the foundation for the Internet of Things (IoT). With QNX utilization, the company looks to allow management and support of IoT products with BES 12.
At CES 2015 in Las Vegas, BlackBerry says that they will offer hardware and software support for cloud-based communications boxes built into shipping containers.
The communications box will include a cellular radio, Wi-Fi connectivity, a microprocessor and sensors that monitor what’s in the container, location and other details to help fleet managers stay on top of their products and anticipate potential problems.
Sandeep Chennakeshu, president of the BlackBerry’s Technology Solutions unit tells CTV News,
“There’s lots of useful information you can collect to get more efficient,” “(The communication box is) very similar to a cell phone, except it doesn’t have a display or a keypad. That’s right up our alley.”
BlackBerry tested the communications boxes last year, in October and has decided to make plans to make the devices available in “limited specific-use cases” by April 2015, said Chennakeshu.
Chennakeshu also said that the current shipping tracking systems “a little archaic and not scalable.”
“It’s a very large business, in the tens of billions of dollars, with very low penetration,”
Entering the shipping industry is only a small part of BlackBerry’s bigger plan for the Internet of Things platform, which could give the company plenty of new, sustainable revenue.
