BlackBerry Expands Embedded Software Design and Delivery with New Partners in Japan

TOKYO, JAPAN and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 21, 2017) - BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) today announced it is expanding its network of embedded technology experts with two new partners in Japan - Fujisoft Incorporated and Hitachi Industry & Control Solutions, Ltd. The companies have joined a new, specialized Value-Added Integrator (VAI) program announced by BlackBerry in March 2017, which aims to build a worldwide network of experts trained on BlackBerry QNX and Certicom technologies. The VAI program allows partners to deliver integration services and build upon BlackBerry's embedded technologies to design and develop secure, mission-critical solutions - ultimately accelerating product time to market.

Kaivan Karimi, senior vice president and head of sales for BlackBerry Technology Solutions says, "Japan is at the cutting edge of the Internet of Things and embedded software systems, which presents a significant opportunity for companies delivering security and software solutions in industries such as automotive, manufacturing and healthcare. By using trusted BlackBerry software and cryptography-based solutions, companies around the world can develop safety-certified embedded systems and devices that are not just secure, but BlackBerry Secure. We are very pleased to grow BlackBerry's VAI partner program with Fujisoft and Hitachi Industry & Control, and look forward to helping their customers to further accelerate the design, development, integration and testing of mission-critical, next-generation systems in Japan and around the world."

VAI partners in the program provide support for technologies and services including BlackBerry's QNX Neutrino Realtime OS, QNX Momentics Tool Suite, QNX Hypervisor, QNX SDK for Apps & Media, QNX Wireless Framework, QNX OS for Safety, QNX OS for Medical, QNX CAR Platform for Infotainment, QNX Platform for Acoustics, and QNX Platform for ADAS, Certicom Toolkits, Certicom Managed Public Key Infrastructure and Certicom Asset Management System. Applications include automotive systems, medical surgical robots, smart grids, train control systems and industrial automation.