BlackBerry announced Thursday that it has bought mobile technology firm Movirtu in order to attract business and government customers.
The main attraction for the Waterloo, Ontario-based phone maker is Movirtu's virtual SIM card, which lets people have both a work and personal number on one mobile device, according to Reuters. Each number comes with separate billing for voice, data and messaging usage, and employees can switch between work and personal profiles without having to use more than one mobile device or SIM card.
"Clearly this fits nicely within the strategy we have so far articulated," John Sims, head of BlackBerry's enterprise unit, said in an interview.
Neither company has revealed the terms of the deal.
BlackBerry has been looking lately to make its software-based services available to businesses and governments in order to make up for its declining share of the smartphone market, Bloomberg reported. The company is focused on employees that use their personal phones' work-related apps and features.
"We've been very clear as part of our turnaround strategy that we had full intention to not only manage BlackBerry devices but to manage iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices," Sims said. "It's a sizable market opportunity."
Sims added that BlackBerry is looking to make the SIM software available to customers starting early next year.
BlackBerry said Movirtu's offerings are similar to its own programs like BlackBerry Balance and Secure Work Place, which provide customers with privacy for their personal use of smartphones, as well as management and security for work use, Reuters reported.
The Movirtu deal follows several acquisitions announced by BlackBerry in the last few months in its mission to obtain business customers, such as its purchase of German encryption company Secusmart in July.
