BlackBerry creates new Technology Solutions unit for key assets

Blackberry has announced that it has a created a new unit to group together its most important assets. The new division will include the firm's cryptographic applications, its QNX embedded software and Project Ion platform for connecting devices.

The project has been dubbed the Blackberry Technology Solutions unit and will be led by Sandeep Chennakeshu, who was previously chief technology officer at Sony-Ericsson and president of Ericsson Mobile Platforms.

The unit will also incorporate a portfolio of 44,000 patents and the Paratek antenna tech company that the firm acquired in 2012.

The move comes as CEO John Chen continues to revamp the company in an effort to stabilize the struggling handset business and diversify its revenue streams.

BGC analyst Colin Gillis said that the market may not fully reflect the long term strategies that the firm has put in place.

"In any good turnaround, you focus in on the immediate tasks at hand but you also look down the road and say 'Where do we want to be? And what assets do we have to get us there?'" he said in an interview with Reuters.

The company's QNX software is currently found on Blackberry smartphones, but can also be used to run nuclear reactors, car infotainment panels and large Internet routers.

Blackberry also hopes that the software can be used to connect static devices to the web, playing a key role in developing the "Internet of things".

In a statement, Chen said, "Combining all these assets into a single business unit led by Sandeep will create operational synergies and new revenue streams, furthering our turnaround strategy".

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