BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) today announced a brand new conference for BlackBerry administrators, developers, partners and other enthusiasts, called BlackBerry World, and the event will “absorb” RIM’s annual Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) conference, making BlackBerry World the largest global BlackBerry event.
RIM’s ninth and final WES conference was held late last April, and the first BlackBerry World will take place during roughly same time period next year, from May 3 -5 in Orlando, Fla. The company will begin accepting registration requests in January.
Technology blog BGR.com reported last week that RIM would rename the WES event, and the news was confirmed early today via a statement from RIM—though the company says BlackBerry World is a brand new conference, and that WES will be a part of the larger event from here on out.
The move represents RIM’s latest ongoing effort to straddle the line between being a business-oriented company that also caters to consumers and a consumer firm that makes products for business.
Overall, I think the renaming makes a lot of sense—though it may rub enterprise-oriented BlackBerry partners, supports staffers and/or users, who already feel as though RIM’s focus on them is waning, the wrong way. RIM is no longer just an enterprise company, and the fact that the WES conference literally had the word “enterprise” in its name was likely a turn off for consumer-oriented BlackBerry enthusiasts. “BlackBerry World” isn’t business- or consumer-specific—and that’s a good thing.
Visit BlackBerryWorld.com for more details on the upcoming event.
AS
Al Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline. Email Al at ASacco@CIO.com.
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Author: asacco, Managing Editor
Al Sacco was a journalist, blogger and editor who covers the fast-paced mobile beat for CIO.com and IDG Enterprise, with a focus on wearable tech, smartphones and tablet PCs. Al managed CIO.com writers and contributors, covered news, and shared insightful expert analysis of key industry happenings. He also wrote a wide variety of tutorials and how-tos to help readers get the most out of their gadgets, and regularly offered up recommendations on software for a number of mobile platforms. Al resides in Boston and is a passionate reader, traveler, beer lover, film buff and Red Sox fan.
