BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has teamed up with smart glasses maker, Vuzix, as it moves to make its first foray into the Wearable’s business. Under the partnership, the two are to work on the development of a smart glass that uses augmented reality.
BlackBerry-Vuzix Partnership
BlackBerry is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the security of data captured and stored by the augmented reality smart glass as part of the partnership. Vuzix will on the other hand focus on the hardware part of things. The two are essentially joining forces to facilitate communication among employees while ensuring access of data is not interrupted.
“We’re excited to partner with Vuzix to provide an innovative solution that will improve productivity and most importantly help keep people and information safe,” said Mark Wilson BlackBerry SVP and chief evangelist
Vuzix expects BlackBerry’s Unified Endpoint Management software to help customers manage wearable enterprise without having to rely on things like tablets, smartphones, and laptops. The fact that UEM supports all major operating systems should allow users to enjoy control, flexibility, and visibility. In addition, IT departments should be able to manage and secure data accessed and captured by the wearable.
Vizix recently added UEM support to its M300 smart glass released September last year. The integration is designed to allow users to access data captured by the device in a more secure environment
Diversification Drive
A partnership with Vuzix builds on an initial announcement by CEO, John Chen, about the company’s plans to enter the wearables market. Initially, it was expected that the Waterloo Company would pursue opportunities in the space with its own Smartwatch.
Once a juggernaut in the phones business, BlackBerry has had to diversify its areas of operations in pursuit of opportunities for growth. Its entry into the wearable’s business comes at a time when the virtual reality segment is poised to reach highs of $37 billion by 2027. The company’s shares are up by more than 30% for the year in response to a diversification strategy that appears to bearing fruit.
BlackBerry was up by 0.57% in Friday’s trading session to end the week at $8.78 a share.
