Samsung Push Into U.S. Government Sector Threatens BlackBerry
WSJ 12/02/14
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Samsung Electronics Co. is revamping its push into the U.S. enterprise and government sector, adding further pressure to the new leadership at the company that once dominated that space, BlackBerry Ltd. BB.T -1.96%
Samsung recently won an order for roughly 7,000 smartphones from the U.S. Army and is close to an order for several thousand devices from the U.S. National Security Agency, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Army order is for the company’s Nett Warrior system, which outfits soldiers with a chest-mounted Samsung Note II smartphone to use while on the battlefield. While Samsung already had an initial contract to supply devices for the Nett Warrior system, the new order expands the number of Samsung devices in use there. The NSA order would be for the agency’s Fishbowl Project, an initiative it started several years ago to update the devices used by #NSA personnel. Both the Army and the NSA equip the devices with their own, secure software.
A spokesman for the Army didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for the NSA declined to comment.
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#Samsung recently hired BlackBerry’s former chief information officer, Robin Bienfait, to work at its IT services subsidiary Samsung SDS, according to people familiar with the matter. Ms. Bienfait stepped down from her post at BlackBerry in late 2012, just before the launch of the company’s new line of phones.
Samsung also recently hired Carl Nerup, from Washington, D.C., contractor General Dynamics Corp. GD +2.35% , to lead sales of its enterprise software, according to a person close to the company.
A Samsung spokesman confirmed the new hires.