????為了贏回消費者，海因斯在2012年下半年花費了大量時間，親自拜訪不同企業(yè)的首席信息官、運營商、科技評論員和其他舉足輕重的人物。公司尤其將賭注壓在了首席信息官身上，他們長期以來都是黑莓的最大消費群體。公司相信他們會幫助公司重新奪回市場上的位置。這個賭注很冒險：由于員工在選購手機時擁有更多的自主權(quán)，企業(yè)購買方式在近幾年發(fā)生了變化，很多人都選擇了蘋果和安卓系統(tǒng)的產(chǎn)品。根據(jù)康姆思科（Comscore）的數(shù)據(jù)，在至關(guān)重要的北美市場，這兩家巨頭已經(jīng)占據(jù)了89%的市場。黑莓的市場份額則從兩年前的34%降到了現(xiàn)在的7%。

????重新贏回智能手機的用戶也許會異常困難。因為顧客會逐漸發(fā)現(xiàn)他們離不開某家公司的系統(tǒng)，更換的代價很大。比如，安卓系統(tǒng)的手機整合了Gmail和谷歌地圖，而iPhone能夠讓用戶輕松把內(nèi)容共享到iPad和蘋果電視上。兩家公司都擁有包含超過60萬應(yīng)用的商店，而黑莓只有12萬。此外，為了削減開支，首席信息官們放寬了政策，允許員工攜帶個人設(shè)備上班。【弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester Research）去年的調(diào)查顯示，北美和歐洲公司54%的決策者表示他們實行了所謂的“自帶設(shè)備”計劃。】

????然而，智能手機只是海因斯雄心勃勃的擴張移動計算計劃的一步。他已經(jīng)暗示，將要發(fā)布新款的平板電腦。公司新操作系統(tǒng)采用的技術(shù)來自2010年購買的QNX軟件系統(tǒng)。它可以編寫許多復(fù)雜的軟件，目前已被植入了許多汽車以及諸如電視和航空控制系統(tǒng)等移動設(shè)備中。這是黑莓邁向未來的光明之窗。海因斯說：“憑借QNX系統(tǒng)，我們?nèi)缃裨谄囶I(lǐng)域已經(jīng)擁有了很強的實力。想想看，這還可以讓我們在醫(yī)療和金融服務(wù)領(lǐng)域大顯身手。”

????下一步怎么走？

????從現(xiàn)實意義上講，黑莓能期望一個怎樣的未來呢？在上周，聯(lián)想公司（Lenovo）首席財務(wù)官黃偉明向媒體表示，已經(jīng)同這家加拿大手機制造商及其銀行家討論了各種戰(zhàn)略聯(lián)盟的可行性，暗示可能會進行收購。受此消息影響，黑莓股價上漲了2.3%。但黃偉明之后澄清說，他只是概括地談了談聯(lián)想的兼并和收購計劃。此外，任何可能的收購都需要面臨加拿大政府的管制障礙，并獲得他們的批準。然而，這件事也提醒大家，即便黑莓公司正在為初次亮相做準備，它仍然擁有許多戰(zhàn)略選擇可供考慮。

????早些時候，海因斯聘請摩根大通（J.P. Morgan）評估公司的戰(zhàn)略選擇。他說他別無選擇。他表示：“太多人懷疑RIM能否渡過難關(guān)。”戰(zhàn)略評估仍在繼續(xù)，但是海因斯解釋道，最近已將重心轉(zhuǎn)移到面向未來的想法上，而不是如何走出這一困境。海因斯說：“要成為移動計算領(lǐng)域的領(lǐng)袖，我們正嘗試著建立更廣闊的生態(tài)體系。我們問自己：‘為了達成目標，我們有哪些戰(zhàn)略選擇？’”他在考慮一切可能性，包括像安卓和微軟一樣，將黑莓的生態(tài)體系授權(quán)給其他廠商。這可能會讓三星（Samsung）這樣的手機廠商擁有他們渴望已久的議價能力。

????不過如果黑莓希望把操作系統(tǒng)授權(quán)給其他廠商，首先需要證明它有這個實力。就像谷歌起初發(fā)布的Nexus手機一樣，黑莓如今需要展現(xiàn)其軟件的潛力。海因斯說：“這就是為什么這次產(chǎn)品發(fā)布這么重要。”(財富中文網(wǎng))

????譯者：嚴匡正

????To lure customers back, Heins has spent much of the second half of 2012 traveling personally to visit CIOs, carriers, technology reviewers, and other influencers. In particular, the company is betting that the chief information officers who have long been BlackBerry's largest customer base will help the company become relevant in the market again. It's a dicey bet: corporate buying patterns have changed in recent years as employees increasingly have more control over their choice of smartphone, and many are opting for Apple and Android-powered devices. In the all-important North American market, this duopoly holds 89% of the market, according to Comscore (SCOR). BlackBerry has seen its share of that market fall to 7% from 34% two years ago.

????Winning back smartphone users may be particularly difficult because customers increasingly find themselves locked into one company's ecosystem and the cost of switching is high. An Android-powered phone, for example, integrates effortlessly with Gmail and Google Maps, while an iPhone makes it easy for users to share material with an iPad or an Apple TV. Both companies have app stores with more than 600,000 apps in them; RIM has just 120,000. What's more, in a bid to cut their costs, CIOs have loosened up policies to allow employees to bring their personal devices to work. (In a survey conducted last year by Forrester Research (FORR), some 54% of decision makers at North American and European companies indicated they are implementing a so-called BYOD program.)

????However, smartphones are just one step in Heins' ambitious goal to power mobile computing more broadly. He has already hinted at a coming tablet release. And the company's new operating system is built with technology from its 2010 purchase of QNX Software Systems, a maker of sophisticated software that is already embedded in many cars as well as other types of mobile devices such as TV sets and air traffic control systems. It offers a window into BlackBerry's future. Says Heins, "We're already strong in automotive with QNX today. Think about what this could do for healthcare or financial services."

????What's next?

????Realistically, what kind of future can BlackBerry hope to have? Last week BlackBerry's shares rose 2.3% after Lenovo's chief financial officer Wong Waiming told a media outlet that the company had spoken to the Canadian phone maker and its bankers about various strategic alliances, implying a potential acquisition. Waiming later backtracked, explaining that he was speaking more broadly about Lenovo mergers and acquisitions. What's more, any potential acquisition would face major regulatory hurdles from the Canadian government, which would need to issue approval. Nevertheless, it's a reminder that even as BlackBerry prepares for its debut, it has its strategic options well in view.

????Early on, Heins hired J.P. Morgan (JMP) to evaluate what the company's options were. He says he had no choice. "There was a lot of doubt about whether RIM was going to make it," Heins reflects. This strategic review continues, but Heins explains that more recently the focus has shifted to future-oriented ideas rather than the how-do-we-get-out-of-this-mess approach at its inception. Says Heins, "To be a leader in mobile computing, we are trying to create a broader ecosystem. We are asking, 'what are your strategic options to get there?'" He is considering everything, including licensing the BlackBerry ecosystem as Android and Microsoft (MSFT) have done to other manufacturers. That might give device makers such as Samsung the bargaining power they are desperate for.

????But if BlackBerry hopes to license its operating system, it will have to prove first that it works. Much like Google did with its original Nexus phone, BlackBerry now needs to showcase the potential for its software. Says Heins, "That's why the launch is so important."