BlackBerry and VoxSmart Partner to Help Financial Services Firms Achieve MiFID II Compliance

WATERLOO, ONTARIO and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - June 13, 2017) - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSX:BB) and VoxSmart, a leading mobile surveillance and compliance firm, are announcing today the companies have partnered to help financial services firms comply on time with the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ("MiFID II"). Together with BlackBerry UEM (Unified Endpoint Management), which connects and manages endpoints, VoxSmart's patented technology VSmarttm will provide financial services firms with the ability to capture, record, store and analyze mobile voice, text and third-party instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp and WeChat.

MiFID II, which comes into effect on January 3, 2018, demands that all financial services firms in Europe must keep records of all services, activities and transactions for at least five years. Records include all electronic and instant messaging communications, telephone conversations and text messages related to or intended to conclude in a transaction, even if one does not occur. The directive seeks to make financial markets in Europe more resilient, transparent and investor-friendly.

"Together with VoxSmart, we can enable businesses around the world to effortlessly capture conversations on endpoints including smartphones, wearables, tablets, and laptops," said Florian Bienvenu, SVP of EMEA Sales, BlackBerry. "This joint solution is an excellent example of how BlackBerry is leveraging its software portfolio and developing strong partnerships to secure the Enterprise of Things."

"VoxSmart is the only global mobile compliance solution that can capture, record, store and analyze both voice and third party instant message applications such as WhatsApp and WeChat," said Oliver Blower, CEO, VoxSmart. "Our partnership with BlackBerry has already led to additional proofs of concept exercises from other global investment banks and financial services firms, who are seeing the MiFID II Directive as a chance to refine their approach to mobile security and compliance."

Already successfully deployed to several global investment banks and trading houses, VSmarttm provides a perfect balance between user experience and compliance, securing and enabling regulated users, all while adhering to stringent global regulations such as Dodd-Frank and MiFID II. BlackBerry UEM, part of BlackBerry Secure, a comprehensive endpoint-to-endpoint approach to security, enables customers to connect and manage endpoints such as smartphones, wearables, laptops, and tablets on a trusted, secure, scalable platform.

For more information about BlackBerry UEM and VSmart, please visit here and here.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a mobile-native security software and services company dedicated to securing people, devices, processes and systems for today's enterprise. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company was founded in 1984 and operates in North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

About VoxSmart

VoxSmart is a leading telecommunications software provider head-quartered in London with regional offices in Singapore and New York. Their proprietary, patented and award-winning mobile technology, VSmart is used to capture, record, transcribe and store, mobile calls, instant messages and voicemails. The company has been pioneering Mobile Voice Recording since 2006 and are now deploying their 4th generation solution after closing their Series A investment at the end of last year.

BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of BlackBerry Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.