If there’s one mobile platform that needs a lifeline these days, it’s BlackBerry 10. BlackBerry’s hardware sales have been in free fall over the past year and most of the devices it has sold have been based on its legacy BlackBerry 7 platform. BlackBerry did announce some good news on Thursday, however, when it revealed that BlackBerry 10 had received the Full Operational Capability certification from the United States Department of Defense. BlackBerry 10 is the only mobile platform to receive FOC so far and the company says that the certification will allow “government employees to realize the full security, productivity, communication and collaboration benefits of the BlackBerry 10 solution.” The company’s full press release follows below.
BlackBerry First to Receive Coveted “Full Operational Capability” on U.S. Department of Defense Networks
Validation completes DISA’s certification process for BlackBerry 10 mobility management platform
Waterloo, Ontario – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a world leader in mobile communications, today announced that BlackBerry® 10 has become the first mobility solution to receive Full Operational Capability (FOC) to run on U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) networks from the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). The designation follows the Company’s Authority to Operate (ATO) certification and enables government users with a BlackBerry 10 smartphone connected with BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) to securely access email, data, apps and other DoD network resources.
BlackBerry was the first Mobile Device Management (MDM) provider to earn ATO and becomes the only vendor with FOC. The granting of FOC completes BlackBerry’s security certification process with the DoD.
“As the first mobile solutions provider to achieve FOC, BlackBerry continues to prove why we are the most trusted enterprise mobility platform,” said John Sims, President of Global Enterprise Services at BlackBerry. “BlackBerry worked side-by-side with DISA to help certify the BlackBerry 10 solution offering the U.S. government an end-to-end mobile infrastructure that does not compromise on security and provides the most productive and collaborative mobile experience.”
FOC allows government employees to realize the full security, productivity, communication and collaboration benefits of the BlackBerry 10 solution. One of the key features now available to DoD customers with a BlackBerry 10 smartphone is BlackBerry® Balance™ technology, which allows users to instantly toggle between work and personal profiles. BlackBerry Balance separates and secures work data from personal content, allowing the user to gain secure access to DoD network resources, along with the full benefits of a consumer experience. BlackBerry 10 smartphones are the only DoD-approved smartphones with this capability.
