KPMG buys 3,500 BlackBerry 10 smartphones

Consulting firm KPMG has bought 3,500 new BlackBerry 10 (BB10) smartphones for use by staff in its Milan office, despite ongoing questions over the Canadian firm's long-term future.
BlackBerry said KPMG's is also pushing ahead with its plans to migrate to BlackBerry's new Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10).
The news comes during a dark period for BlackBerry, which has been losing money since the launch of its current BB10 operating system. The losses led BlackBerry to seek buyout offers from a variety of sources with no clear future for the firm in sight.
IT lead partner at KPMG Davide Grassano highlighted the security benefits of BES10 and BB10 as key reasons for the company's continued interest in the platform. "Every day our professionals need to share confidential information and need a reliable smartphone with strong security, and the flexibility to meet different working needs," said Grassano.
"With BlackBerry 10 we have found the best solution in terms of usability, security, connectivity and price. The BlackBerry solution allows our users to have access to shared files and other internal resources, while also working to prevent the accidental leakage of business documents and attachments."
Managing director for southeast Europe at BlackBerry Alberto Acito mirrored Grassano's sentiment, arguing that the platform's robust security and device management powers will lead to further successes in the enterprise space.
"Security, usability and cost-effectiveness are at the heart of the BlackBerry 10 solution. The combination of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and BlackBerry 10 smartphones delivers a breakthrough platform that combines state-of-the-art security with a powerful new mobile computing experience," said Acito.
"Customers understand the value and benefits of our offering and this is why more than 25,000 BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 commercial and test servers have already been installed globally, including within many of the world's top organisations."
The robust security of BlackBerry services has been praised by numerous companies and government agencies. BlackBerry 10 smartphones won approval by Nato for use with classified communications up to the level of Restricted earlier in October.