As Focus Shifts to Software, BlackBerry Signs Multi-Million-Dollar Deal with US Government

BlackBerry today announced that it has signed several software deals, the biggest of which is with the US government. The Canadian company signed a five-year, multi-million-dollar with the US senate to run emergency notifications.

“It’s critical for the nation’s political epicenter to be prepared with a unified communications system to swiftly and securely communicate in the event of an emergency,” says John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry. “The U.S. Senate is joining more than three million US federal government personnel today in using BlackBerry’s AtHoc software for their crisis communications capability.”

BlackBerry also expanded a deal with the US Coast Guard. AtHoc’s relationship with the US Coast Guard, a component organization of the Department of Homeland Security, enables the agency to reach more than 80,000 users with emergency notifications using secure and certified software. This expansion also improves the Coast Guard’s ability to collaborate and coordinate with other organizations, such as Defense organizations and local communities around the National Capitol Region.

At BlackBerry Security Summit, it was announced that its latest operating system update achieved STIG approval from the Defense Information Systems Agency for use at the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Security is one of the top priorities for our government customers,” said David Kleidermacher, Chief Security Officer at BlackBerry. “BlackBerry believes that security should be an enabler of productivity and collaboration in both the public and private sector.”

BlackBerry acquired AtHoc last year. AtHoc’s networked crisis communications platform alerts any device, including iOS, PC, radios, and endpoints such as sirens, fire panels and speakers, according to the company. It was one of the company’s big moves as it shifts from hardware to software.

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