BlackBerry's market share has taken a huge hit from Apple and Google, but the Waterloo, Ontario-headquartered company seems to have a firm grasp on the growing world of connected cars.
Under the direction of CEO John Chen, who was appointed in November, BlackBerry is becoming a company that develops software as well as hardware and focuses on phones geared toward those working in business and government, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
BlackBerry holds just 1 percent of the global smartphone market dominated by Apple and Google, but the two tech giants have fallen behind BlackBerry when it comes to vehicle connectivity systems.
As Apple launches its CarPlay system and Google continues to test its famous self-driving car, BlackBerry has already made a name for itself when it comes to connected autos with the QNX operating system that powers the 10 BlackBerry smartphones.
"QNX is one of the more, if not the most valuable, assets in the company right now," Mark Boyadjis, an analyst at IHS Automotive in Minnetonka, Minn., told Businessweek.
"That advantage will help carry them as they fight the titans Google and Apple in the future," Boyadjis said.
The Canadian corporation's QNX system, part of a 2010 acquisition that cost BlackBerry $2 billion, has been implemented into vehicles made by Chrysler, Hyundai and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc. QNX is also the car system of choice for most luxury German automakers, according to Businessweek.
Ford has dropped Microsoft in favor of BlackBerry for the American carmaker's Sync vehicle system, two people familiar with the matter told Businessweek.
For now, Google and its Android operating system stand as the greater competition since BlackBerry's QNX software pairs with Apple's CarPlay.
The connected car market that BlackBerry, Google and Apple are working to develop is expected to reach $53 billion by 2018--and BlackBerry seems to be in the lead.
"QNX is the standard right now," Matthew Stover, an analyst at Guggenheim Partners in Boston, told Businessweek. "It's proven and people know what it is."
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