WES 2007

The annual “BlackBerry Lovefest” (formally known as RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium or “WES”) draws to a close today in Orlando Florida. If the movement in RIMM stock price this week is any indicator, it was a very successful show for RIM.

Having now attended all six WES events, I’d say this year had an especially unique blend of old and new faces with many of the veteran BlackBerry Alliance Partners opting to send smaller teams and, in many cases, not exhibiting on the showcase floor. With overflowing enthusiasm, the new kids on the block sent large teams to explain to the BlackBerry faithful how their new product or service is a little bit better than the competitor across the floor.

RIM filled up any idle booth space advertising their new “Top Shelf” professional services, training and accessory offerings. These offerings have been years in the coming and will effectively serve the largest customers in North America. These teams are intentionally lean to keep overhead down with the tradeoff being scalability.

The prevailing theme at WES was “BlackBerry is not just for business anymore…it is an integral part of your personal life.” Based on the number of people walking around the show at all hours of the day and night frozen in the "BlackBerry Prayer" stance, I would have to agree.

I was very encouraged that the other prevalent theme was “wireless applications.” This was true among RIM, the carriers and customers alike. Even Jim Belushi at the evening party used the term 2 or 3 times during his performance as did the Robin Wilson (lead singer of the Gin Blossoms) during the AT&T Wireless Party at the House of Blues.

New BlackBerry Smartphones

This consumer focused impression perfectly introduced the BlackBerry 8300 or “Curve”. This sexy little number morphs the QWERTY keyboard with many of the features that made the Pearl such a winner. The Curve gets an upgraded 2 Megapixel camera, a stereo headset jack, stereo Bluetooth A2DP capability and spell checker. To round out the multimedia offering, more formats will be supported (i.e. WMA files) and Roxio for BlackBerry will be provided on the desktop to manage all the pix, movies & music files.

The other exciting smartphone announcement was the BlackBerry 8830 for US based Verizon Wireless and Sprint. This little beauty will be the first of its kind offering seamless international roaming on GSM/GPRS while connecting via the CDMA/1x/EVDO antenna when in the US.

BlackBerry Software Roadmap

As a natural evolution, RIM continues to enhance the handheld and server side software marginalizing the ISV Alliance Partner offerings. Many thrifty ISVs were whispering among their colleagues as RIM announce their future intension to bake-in monitoring, roles based security, .Net and Eclipse snap-in for developers and a number of other features under partner NDA.

After years of trying to downplay the need for the Desktop Manager, it is BACK! It will become the mechanism to manage multimedia files on the BlackBerry family of smartphones.

ISV Partner Products and Services

There were few products and services that I would categorize as new or revolutionary. Many things that one would naturally expect to be built were now being demoed. There were RSS readers, geo positioning & emergency contacts and the like. Most were varying twists on one of the following themes: CRM, Dispatch, Geo-tracking / mapping / directions, business process improvement, content / document management, voice recognition, IT admin tools (monitoring / remote control / security / failover), software "middleware" platforms and 31 flavors of professional and hosted services.

I saw many strong and valuable products for customers to solve unique problems. Of the products that I reviewed, I found the following to be most memorable.

GPS Snitch offers BlackBerry client for 8800 (or GPS puck) that reports back via the cellular data network the precise location of the device. Projecting forward, the service could be used not only for monitoring, but also for social networking purposes. eTrace is an on-demand enterprise dispatch service based on the same technology. Both products can monitor and alert users if a driver is speeding or not where they should be.

Chalk Mobile’s Content Management Solution showed very well. From a BlackBerry 8800, Chalk showed a technician’s training demo complete with audio and video (stored on MicroSD not streaming) with step by step instructions and a test at the end of each section. The results were tracked back at the server. The Chalk demo was the best produced at the show.

REGARD’s R-Approval v3.0 product which enables traveling managers to receive approval requests for timecards, expense reports, purchase requisition and the like into a unique approval inbox received a lot of interests from tier 2 US carriers and tier 1 international carriers. The goal of this carrier class is to find sticky solutions that are easy to install, support and deliver high utility out-of-the-box.

WES Summary

Year after year RIM continues to produce a high quality show that continues to grow among the customers, partners and carriers internationally. The momentum of the Eco-System they have built is very compelling and should be for some time to come.

I remember the first meeting I took with RIM in 1998 they told me they felt they had an 18 month lead on their nearest competition. I believe they continue to extend that lead as they push into more international markets.

Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset w/ BlackBerry

Four years ago, I was speaking with a VC friend that told me about one of his portfolio companies that had utilized military technology to create a Bluetooth headset that would virtually eliminate background (or ambient) noise from a wireless call.

Naturally, this sounded rather futuristic and far fetched.

About 3 months ago, I received a Jawbone Headset in the mail. After pairing it with my BlackBerry, I jumped right into my M3 Convertable ... top down, stereo cranked, I accelerated to 60 MPH on PCH and was ready to road test the Jawbone.

When I told the other parties of the hostle "noisy" environment from which I was calling, they were astonished! Initially, I was not able to hear conversation very well until I traded out earbuds and the ear loop to adjust the fit (4 earbud and 4 earloops are included).

With California poised to join the states that require hands-free calling when driving, I must say I am thrilled the Jawbone has been released in time!

The Virtual BlackBerry on Windows Mobile 6

Yesterday, Research in Motion announced a BlackBerry® vitural machine that will run on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6® smartphones.

Tom Taulli quotes me in his Motley Fool article today stating that this is a smart move by RIM.

"This opens up RIM's wireless push network to an entirely new class of smartphone devices," said Steve Beauregard, president of REGARD, which has developed applications for BlackBerry smartphones for the past 10 years. "Not only does RIM win by selling additional software licenses and support fees to enterprise customers, but the company receives a small recurring fee from the carrier for each user sending traffic over the BlackBerry network."

Hopefully this will not be a long wait in vain as the BlackBerry Connect® and BlackBerry Built-in® RIM initiatives were. That is, hopefully, the Windows Mobile platform and the supporting hardware have now matured to offer a pervasive platform alternative to customers that want the rich features of Windows (i.e. MS Office, Media Players, etc) that hamstring the BlackBerry offering.

Coupling the speed, security and reliability of the BlackBerry service with a Windows Mobile user experience should truly serve well a user base that RIM has thus far been unable to tap.

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-Steve Beauregard

REGARD – “R-Solutions Liberate People From Their Desks”

310.883.2205 (direct dial)

310.450.2400 (main line)

http://www.regard.com (Corp Website)

Opportunities for Resellers & VARs

In a recent Computer Reseller News "CRN" article by Jennifer Lawinski, I wanted to clarify my quote below.

"The device business was a very booming business for a number of years and we did quite well with that, but pretty much anything meaningful they've taken direct"

By "anything meaningful they've taken direct" , I am referring to the wireless carriers (Cingular, T-Mobile, NEXTEL / Sprint & Verizon). That is to say the largest customers and activation deals are being sold by the carrier sales reps directly to the customers. This is simply the natural evolution of any technology business. Now that the carriers have come up to speed on BlackBerry® and other Smartphone devices (as much as they feasibly can), their sales reps don't need to rely (as much) on the expertise of companies like REGARD to help close these deals.

As for the second part of that quote...

"...The most opportunity is in emerging software development companies, getting in early with them before their products start to go with distribution," Beauregard said. "A lot of those guys you can get margins of up to 40 [percent] or 50 percent because they're anxious to get their products out there."

Small technology companies must evolve with the changing dynamics. The big opportunities in wireless for resellers and VARs has now migrated to off-the-shelf wireless products like R-Approval®. In addition to making money on the sale of the software, VARs can also provide professional services to document and streamline approval workflow processes. Designing R-Approval templates based on existing paper approval forms can also be quite lucrative.

Other products are available for Flowfinity, Antenna Software and Wallace Wireless that offer similar opportunities for VARs on BlackBerry® and other wireless Smartphones.

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-Steve Beauregard

REGARD – “R-Solutions Liberate People From Their Desks”

310.883.2205 (direct dial)

310.450.2400 (main line)

http://www.regard.com (Corp Website)

In the News

A number of customers and colleagues recently asked me what I thought of Jim Balsillie's resignation as chairman of Research in Motion (RIMM).

From the time I saw my first BlackBerry in 1998, I knew a revolution on par with the introduction of the laptop computer was coming for mobile professionals.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Jim Balsillie in 2000. What was immediately evident was Jim's deep passion for driving this revolution according to his vision. He was already speaking like an evangelist of applications beyond email and PIM data before those "mobile killer apps" had been adopted in mainstream corporate culture.

It was Jim's leadership and passion that encouraged partners like REGARD to adopt the slogan "Liberating People From Their Desks" and to develop products like R-Approval & R-Charter. Mobilizing critical business application to BlackBerry Smartphones today is the realization of Jim's late 1990's vision.

I feel regardless of Jim's decision to step down as chairman, he will continue to pour much of his heart and soul into RIM products as ever. After all, Jim has not stepped down as co-CEO.

That said, Jim's recent highly publicized purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins leads one to believe he may begin to pursue other interests as well. Clearly, he has earned it!

Perhaps we will see the Waterloo Penguins before long?

Below is a link to my comments in Computer Reseller News (CRN).

http://crncanada.ca/content/networking/balsillie-steps-down-as-r.shtml

2007 Changes at REGARD

Over the past 12 years, REGARD has supported a wide diversity of customer's IT needs. With technologies and best practices changing at a frantic pace, we have found it impossible to be an effective partner to our customers in both software development and IT Support.

In order to continue to delivering the quality of service our customers demand and deserve, REGARD has set focus on project based software development of mobility solutions. Our sales priority will be focused on solution surrounding our R-Approval, R-Charter & R-Survey products for wireless handhelds.

I would like to personally thank all of our customers for whom we have been a trusted technology partner over these 12 years, and I hope you will consider REGARD should you have software development or mobility solutions needs (such as Microsoft .Net, Java, J2ME, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and the like)

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-Steve Beauregard

REGARD – “R-Solutions Liberate People From Their Desks”

310.883.2205 (direct dial)

310.450.2400 (main line)

http://www.regard.com (Corp Website)

REGARD / Cingular DSC Summit Meeting (6/28/2006)

The goal of the REGARD / DSC Summit Meeting was to have a "round-table" discussion of wireless industry trends and customer needs. The Cingular DSCs speak with a broad spectrum of customers about their pains. REGARD was seeking validation and some strategic guidance from the collective experiences of the participants. REGARD would take into consideration these discussions in the architecture and design of current and future mobile products.

The Meeting Agenda was as follows:
1. Comparative technology/platform discussion
2. General discussion of customer readiness & budgets to adopt solutions (Custom vs. Packaged)
3. What solutions really generate a lot of interest and why?
4. Have customers moved beyond "Low Hanging Fruit" to address real operational challenges?
5. Are current wireless solution meeting the needs of customers?
6. Discussion of products that raise ARPU vs. those that add data lines.
7. Brainstorming session - Common customer pains (vertical vs. Horizontal)
REGARD Development Capabilities and Product Roadmap. Feedback from the field.

REGARD attendees included
Manish - Director of Solutions (REGARD India partner)
Cariel - Senior Solutions Architect
Dave - REGARD Advisory Board and published wireless expert
Steve - President & CTO
Lee - CEO & Marketing Executive

Cingular Attendee (shall remain nameless to protect them)
3 Members of the Global DSC Team
4 Members of the Corporate Markets DSC Team

The meeting started with each person providing their professional background. This was important to establish the technical, business and sales knowledge of the summit participants.

In the comparative technology discussion, BlackBerry remains the category killer for mobile data. All agreed that Microsoft Windows Mobile will take a considerable bite of the market going forward, however, no one believes that BlackBerry will be replaced in mass any time soon.

The mobile solutions market is still mostly highly customized to meet customer requirements. Many early solutions really only addressed a feature gap that was ultimately incorporated into the BlackBerry product.

Few solutions are driven from the top levels of the corporation as was the case with mobile email. Line of business solutions appear to be of highest interest especially for field forces, sales force/ CRM and service industry technicians. Many executives seem to lack the imagination of how a mobile application can help them. They need to see diagrams and real life examples before the light bulb finally comes on.

REGARD provided the DSC with the future vision for the R-Approval & R-Survey products. We were met with very lively discussion which validated some of our thought regarding barriers to entry. The feedback from the DSC was to improve the interfaces to and from outside enterprise systems. The key to our success in the global accounts will be the ability to integrate and the key for corporate markets accounts will be ease of administration and ease of use.

5th Annual RIM Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES)

The annual RIM Wireless Enterprise Symposium (held May 14-18, 2006) has become quite predictable. Not that that is necessarily bad; The event remains a "who's who" of the BlackBerry carrier and partner elite (a high value wireless executive schmooze-fest.) The fact that it is highly attended by this profile alone makes it worth attending. Attendance was definitely up, especially among international attendees, and the Gaylord Palms facility and preparation were top-notch!


Keynote Speeches
The keynotes were a little less than awe inspiring. The highlight, by far, was Jim Balsillie's assertion that Microsoft has been "dicking around" trying to figure out how to do wireless solutions. His flippant remark was almost a "come-and-get-me" or “catch-me-if-you-can” style dare. The balances of the speeches were the standard “We’re #1” rhetoric.

Technical Information
For those that have attended any WES in the past, the quality of the information has been "dumbed down" presumably to not overtax the minds of all of the new international attendees with the flood of information. As always, the technical roadmap information remains at the 50,000 foot level and delivery dates are far on the horizon. To really get the low down, you need to corner one of the RIM techies and try to extract the real truth. Luckily the Canadians generally like to drink.

The Sponsors & Parties
Having attended all 5 WES shows, what has been most interesting is to watch the big companies come and go. Many of the bigger sponsors of past years were largely absent or reduced their presence.

REGARD’s Partner Party on Monday night was attended by a few hundred fellow sponsors and customers. The DJ was a nice touch and the drink coupons were in high demand. Some clever attendee found the color copier in the business center as a good way to bring along more colleagues for free drinks and desserts. The REGARD team didn’t mind the party crashers!







Sadly, the competing BIG carrier party spend levels were WAY down from past years. Verizon and Cingular both had nice small parties but strictly limited the number of attendees. T-Mobile typically was the big spender at WES with headline acts and big parties. Not this year…but being the bargain basement leader in the US must have takes its toll. Sprint/Nextel didn’t show up with a big party either. This must mean the fight for subscribers has now moved to a different battlefield.

As always RIM threw a great blowout party on Tuesday night with the Stray Cat’s Brian Setzer backed up by his 18 piece orchestra. The free food and bottom-shelf booze were all flowing nicely!



Platform Vendors
Antenna, AppForge, Dexterra, Flowfinity, METAmessge, Vaultus, Vettro, Donner and Blitzen (last two of course are Santa’s reindeer) are all slugging it out to be the middleware platform vendors of choice. Most have chosen a tight vertical focus, some remain horizontal and ALL promise a cross platform play to Microsoft. Everyone has their success story to tell with a particular software vendor or five. What is clear is there IS NO CLEAR Rudolph in this crowded space. Our hunch is a big player will end up owning all of them or pushing them out. Don't count Sybase, SAP or even RIM out of this race! We believe most of these companies will end up with a reasonably attractive Sendia Play, but it is doubtful any will be crowned the winner without someone big stepping in to the game.


Point Solutions
Steve Beauregard, President and Founder of REGARD Solutions Corporation presented R-Approval Case Studies. In addition to R-Approval and R-Survey products which were both received nicely, there were a number of noteworthy solutions that should gain traction.

Newcomer QuickPlay showed a PODCasting solutions and ScoreMobile. The latter being a push sports score board with a very clean navigation interface and the Berry Casting solution, with broand consumer appeal, gained a lot of attention from the RIM. Telenav spent and extraordinary amount on the show. There navigation system for the 75xx series BlackBerry is very nice, but this space is crowded as well.

Summary
We still believe the opportunities are very significant with BlackBerry even in spite of the 4.1 scalability issues they are desperately trying to keep quiet. The vibe on the street is that NOBODY thinks Microsoft has it figured out how to do wireless right. They have afterall...been “dicking around” for the past several years. As for where the opportunities lie … we will reserve those thoughts for the REGARD Advisory Board and internal strategy discussions.

Op Ed on Visto Patent Complaint Against RIM

The US patent system was developed to protect true innovators from dubious thieves who attempt to steal inventions and make fortunes without paying the creator.

I believe it is a flagrant abuse of the system, to scour through a failed company's portfolio of patents and initiate a lawsuit against a firm succeeding and adding value in their space. The latest tangle of legal battles over wireless messaging, offers a poor reflection of NTP and Visto -- two companies that appear to be using their patents as lottery tickets or a final "Hail Mary" exit strategy to collect an unearned payday.

Having watched the NTP v. RIM case from the front row, my impression is that the case had nothing to do with actual patent infringement, and everything to do with exploit and greed. There should be more at stake for both for the companies and lawyers attempting to extort money from an inadequate patent system.

If you look at Visto’s recent history, they have been suing Microsoft Corporation and Good Technology for violating some of the same patents. And Visto took their turn in line, right behind NTP and Seven Network, before initiating this next suit against RIM. Isn’t it clear to everyone that the US Patents system and is in desperate need of an overhaul?

Let’s look at restoring innovation in industries across the board with tort reform. It’s high time the scales of justice tipped in favor of companies actually making a difference to corporations and to society as a whole.

REGARD Advisory Board Meeting

On Thursday, April 27, 2006, the REGARD Advisory Board (RAB) met for the first time. Attendees included, Steve Beauregard (REGARD President & founder), Lee Fox (REGARD CEO), Tom Taulli (www.taulli.com), Dave Mock (www.davemock.com) and guest Bob Newkirk (standing in for a very pregnant Jeannie Ponich).

The meeting agenda was as follows:

1. REGARD Advisory Board Charter

2. REGARD Recent History

REGARD Mantra

DECIDE / DEVELOP / DEPLOY / SUPPORT

R-Solutions (R-Approval™ / R-Survey™ / Others)

Creation of REGARD Labs

ORGANIZATION & ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS

New Internal Systems

3. SWOT Analysis

4. REGARD Roadmap

Business Plan

Exit Strategy

All agreed the charter of the REGARD Advisory Board would be as follows:

1. Actively assist in shaping and validating the REGARD business model and direction.
2. Based on industry trends, advise on blend and timing of future REGARD products and services.
3. Contribute to business planning, fundraising, Go-to-market strategy and exit strategy

We reviewed the product and service offerings of the Corporation and decided that no enough emphasis has been placed on bring products to market. This will be an increase emphasis going forward!

There was a very lively discussion about product and service direction that will be reserved for non-public discussions.

In conclusion, the RAB with meet again next month then quarterly there after.

-Steve Beauregard
Email: sbeau@regard.com
Phone: 310-883-2205
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REGARD Solutions Corporation - "Liberating People from their DESKS!"
Web http://www.regard.com
Sales sales@regard.com or 877-REGARD1

Orders orders@regard.com
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