Another US Agency Ditches BlackBerry

RIM's once widely accepted BlackBerry smartphone has lost another major federal customer. After the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US federal government's main procurement agency has now disclosed plans to switch its employees from BlackBerry phones to iPhones and Android-based devices.
"We actively seek to be progressive in our adoption of new technologies so that we can learn the lessons which will inform our client and customer agencies as they seek to go down a similar path," Casey Colemanthe, chief information officer at the General Services Administration (GSA), told Reuters.

The GSA manages $500 billion of government assets including telecom, information technology and real estate. With an aim to trim costs, the agency is also testing employees' personal devices such as smartphones and tablets on their networks.
It is said that GSA's purchasing decision may not directly impact other parts of the US Government. However, the fact remains that the terms and conditions the agency negotiates can be used as a blueprint for other agencies.
Last week, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it would be replacing the BlackBerry devices with iPhones and iPads. The new devices are expected to be given to its employees in May this year.
Oil giant Halliburton also recently turned its back on the BlackBerry in favour of the iPhone. "We are making this transition in order to better support our mobile applications initiatives," said Beverly Blohm Stafford, director of corporate affairs at Halliburton. "Halliburton has engaged with Apple on this transition."
Though the Waterloo, Ontario-based company may be hoping other businesses that use its products won't be toying with the same idea, the switchover appears to be part of a worrying trend for the BlackBerry maker.