Everyday users thought differently. They were less concerned about making sure the devices software was encrypted for security than they were about the user ex-perience, which was fun and diverse. The iPhone al-lowed users to text, surf the web, take pictures, play games, and write and send e-mails. Although Black-Berry devices were great in productivity applications, such as receiving and responding to e-mail via typing on its iconic physical keyboard, they provided a poor mo-bile web browsing experience. The second external development that helped erode BlackBerrys dominance was sociocultural. Initially, mobile devices were issued top-down by corporate IT departments. The only available device for executives was a company-issued BlackBerry. This made it easy for IT departments to ensure network security. Con-sumers, however, began to bring their personal iPhones (and other mobile devices with an Apple-like user expe-rience) to work and used them for corporate communi-cation and productivity applications. This bottom-up groundswell known as BYOT (bring your own tech-nology) forced corporate IT departments to open The two PESTEL factorstechnological and socio-culturalset BlackBerry back in the smartphone mar-ket. Unlike Gretzky, it failed to skate in the direction that the puck was headed and remained instead in its current position, that is, focused on its existing cus-tomer base of corporate IT departments and govern-ment. Although it attempted to promote some product modifications later, they were too little, too late. By then Apple was the innovation driver in the smart-phone industry, bringing out more advanced iPhone models and enhancing the usefulness of its business and productivity apps. Ten years after the iPhone was introduced, Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones globally, directly driving more than two-thirds of its annual revenues, which stood at a whopping $265 billion in 2018. Mean-while, BlackBerry sold its iconic line of smartphones, including its BlackBerry brand name, to TCL Commu-nication, a Chinese electronics company. The original BlackBerry company pivoted away from consumer electronics to enterprise software and the internet of things. Lets think about the rapid progress in mobile com Consumer preferences changed quickly once the iPhone and later the iPad were introduced. Professionals brought their own Apple or other devices to work in-stead of using company-issued BlackBerries. Although the Canadian technology company made a valiant effort to make up lost ground with its new BlackBerry 10 oper-ating system and several new models, it was too late.

1. What made BlackBerry so successful initially in the smartphone industry?

2. What role did external factors play in BlackBerrys demise? Which external factors were most potent, and why?

3. What could BlackBerrys strategic leaders have done differently to address the external factors you identified in Question 2? Be specific