BlackBerry has announced that it will acquire Secusmart, a German provider of voice and data encryption and anti-eavesdropping software for governments, businesses and telecommunications operators. BlackBerry already offers some of Secusmart’s products to its customers, and their joint product meets the highest security requirements of the German federal authorities and NATO for restricted communications. The two companies have provided Secusmart-equipped BlackBerry smartphones to a number of German government agencies and almost all German government ministries and leaders. The transaction is awaiting regulatory approval.

Tarifica’s Take

As BlackBerry has seen its original business in the enterprise and consumer sectors decline dramatically due to the assault from Android and iOS, the company is charting a new direction. By playing to its strength—advanced security features—it is gaining significant new business from governmental entities. In April, the U.S. Department of Defense gave BlackBerry “full operational capability” to provide smartphone services on its networks; it was the only vendor to meet that standard. Now, by deepening the connection with Secusmart, BlackBerry is increasing its strength and entering into what promises to be a quite profitable relationship with the German government.