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BlackBerry backs the social networking 'revolution'
And what's the key to success?

By Natasha Lomas

Published: Wednesday 13 February 2008

The secret of the BlackBerry's success is security, according to RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie - but social networking is its future.

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Speaking during a session on mobile services at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona he said having security validations worldwide, and features such as built-in firewalls and the ability to remotely lock and wipe devices, are key.

Balsillie warned: "If you don't address this you don't get to be accepted by the organisation."

Echoing Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin's words from yesterday's keynote, Balsillie said carriers have come to a fork in the road that will see them either become pipes or platforms. They must therefore provide a managed service to users - seamlessly integrating web services and desktop apps onto handsets. "This is not a concept - this is a reality," he said.

And change is afoot elsewhere too, according to Balsillie, who said a B2B social networking revolution is coming that will bring networking benefits to the enterprise and also help drive data usage. "Once social networking becomes a B2B phenomenon - not unlike IM and texting - I believe every single social networking user will want a data plan," he told the Congress audience.

Balsillie added that some of the largest companies in the world are considering giving all their employees BlackBerrys. "Just ask a CIO," he said. "They want everyone to be a mobile worker."