BlackBerry smartphones have some loyal fans… but there aren’t as many of them as there were a few years ago. So while BlackBerry isn’t ready to stop making hardware anytime soon, it’s not surprising that the company is taking steps to reach potential customers on the phone’s they’re already using… whether those are BlackBerry phones or not.

A little over a year ago the company launched BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS. Now the company is adding new features including support for BBM notifications on Android Wear smartwatches.

But BBM might just be the start of BlackBerry’s cross-platform offerings. This week the company unveiled something called the BlackBerry Experience Suite which could bring more apps and services to Android, iOS, and Windows Phone devices in the future.

bb experience

The Experience Suite has three components: the Productivity Suite, Communication and Collaboration Suite, and Security Suite. BlackBerry says users will be able to purchase just all three of those packs together or buy just the individual suites they want.

What’s not entirely clear at this point is who those “users” will be. Will BlackBerry offer these apps for anyone to download through the App Store and Google Play Store the way it does with its BBM apps, or will it try to partner with device makers to pre-load BlackBerry apps and services?

We might not know for a little while… Recode reports that the BlackBerry Experience Suite probably won’t be ready to launch until late 2015 or maybe early next year. Still, it sounds like good news for folks who like BlackBerry’s security or productivity features but prefer phones running Android, iOS, or Windows software.

Here are some of the services that BlackBerry plans to include.

Productivity Suite

  • BlackBerry Hub (unified inbox/messaging app)
  • BlackBerry Calendar
  • BlackBerry Contacts
  • Documents To Go (office apps)
  • Input (keyboard)
  • Universal Search tool

Communication Suite

  • BlackBerry Messenger
  • WorkLife (maintain separate work and  personal profiles on the same device)
  • BBM Meetings
  • BBM Protected

Security Suite

  • BES 12 (BlackBerry Enterprise Service)
  • VPN Authentication
  • Secure Work Spaces
  • Enterprise Identity
  • Password Keeper
  • BlackBerry Blend desktop software

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4 replies on “BlackBerry Experience Suite will bring more BB features to Android, iOS, and Windows”

  1. I hope non-business users will be able to purchase just the items they are interested in…at a non-business price.

  2. For an existing BES shop, this is an interesting development that can assist in supporting all the none BB devices.

  3. To me this looks like the client side version of a modern day BES CLOUD service. Interesting. Mildly.

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