????除了BBM之外，黑莓還可以給三大平臺提供一些他們都缺乏同時又非常需要的東西——一個真正的安全數(shù)據(jù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)。這可能也是黑莓最強的優(yōu)勢了。對于那些想保障通訊安全的企業(yè)來說，通過黑莓數(shù)據(jù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)收發(fā)郵件是一個更安全的選擇。目前黑莓的客戶包括所有的大型華爾街銀行，甚至還包括美國國防部（the Department of Defense）。這些客戶的服務(wù)器與它們的IT基礎(chǔ)架構(gòu)直接連接到封閉的黑莓網(wǎng)絡(luò)，使員工們可以安全地收發(fā)電子郵件和收據(jù)。這項技術(shù)背后有數(shù)千項專利的保護，其中光是某些專利的估值就高達10億美元。

????除了技術(shù)之外，收購黑莓還可以給戰(zhàn)略收購者帶來某些重大的稅務(wù)優(yōu)勢。谷歌、蘋果和微軟都在海外存有大量現(xiàn)金，差不多都在銀行里存得發(fā)霉了。這些現(xiàn)金都是通過數(shù)不清的海外子公司銷售產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)賺來的，金額高得驚人——根據(jù)美國公共利益研究集團（PIRG）的數(shù)據(jù)，其中谷歌有330億美元海外資金，微軟有610億美元，蘋果有830億美元。正常來說，一家公司會把這些現(xiàn)金重新分配給投資者，而不是坐在錢堆上面什么也不干。但由于這些現(xiàn)金是在海外賺來的，因此它們尚未被美國政府課稅。

????這些公司唯一能利用這些現(xiàn)金的方法就是把它投資到海外的事業(yè)上。但是由于這三家公司的資本項目很少，這些現(xiàn)金只能越碼越高。不過他們并不需要拿這些錢蓋房圈地，而是可以利用這些錢收購點什么。黑莓是一家加拿大公司，因此可以通過海外資金來收購。

????這樣做并非沒有先例。比如強生集團（Johnson and Johnson）去年夏天就在高盛（Goldman）和摩根大通（JPMorgan）等投行的協(xié)助下設(shè)計了一套方案，使它利用部分海外資金收購了瑞士醫(yī)療設(shè)備制造商Synthes，收購價將近200億美元。

????2011年，微軟斥資85億海外現(xiàn)金收購了盧森堡的Skype公司。顯然微軟并不怕花大價錢收購其它公司，而且也愿意利用沒被課稅的海外資金來搞收購。這幾年來，微軟一直努力在智能手機市場實現(xiàn)突破，收購黑莓可以為它在企業(yè)市場贏得優(yōu)勢。美國差不多所有的大型企都在用微軟的Microsoft Exchange服務(wù)器發(fā)電子郵件，因此如果微軟收購了黑莓，將有助于繼續(xù)鞏固它在美國企業(yè)IT基礎(chǔ)架構(gòu)領(lǐng)域的領(lǐng)頭羊地位。

????In addition to BBM, BlackBerry offers the Big Three something none of them have but could really use – a truly secure data network. This is probably BlackBerry's strongest advantage. Sending and receiving emails through the BlackBerry data network provides a much safer conduit for businesses that want to keep their communications private. BlackBerry customers include all the large Wall Street banks as well as the Department of Defense. These clients have servers hardwired into their IT infrastructure that allow them to access the closed BlackBerry network and provide a safe and relatively secure way for their employees to send and receive emails and data. The technology behind the network is protected by thousands of patents, which some have estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion just on their own.

????In addition to the technology, Blackberry also offers a buyer some significant tax advantages. Google, Apple and Microsoft have billions of dollars of cash parked offshore gathering virtual dust in foreign banks. The Big Three accumulated these cash piles by selling their products and services through their numerous foreign operating subsidiaries. The amount of cash we are talking about here is simply staggering. At last count Google had $33 billion; Microsoft had $61 billion; and Apple had $83 billion, according to U.S. PIRG, a federation of public interest research groups. Normally a company would redistribute that cash to its shareholders, not just sit on it. But since the cash was made abroad, it hasn't been taxed by U.S. authorities.

????The only thing these companies can really do with their cash hoards would be to somehow reinvest it abroad in some sort of foreign venture. With few capital projects on their plate, the money has just be piling up. But they don't have to build something – they can also acquire something. Blackberry is a Canadian company and could be acquired using funds from the foreign reserves.

????This is not an unprecedented move. For example, Johnson and Johnson, aided by its bankers at Goldman and JPMorgan, devised a scheme that allowed it to use part of its foreign cash pile to acquire Swiss medical device maker Synthes last summer for nearly $20 billion.

????Microsoft used $8.5 billion of its foreign cash hoard to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype in 2011. Clearly it isn't shy about making big acquisitions and seems comfortable tapping its untaxed foreign cash hoard to make it happen. Microsoft has been struggling to break into the smartphone market for years now and acquiring Blackberry could allow it to gain an edge within the corporate arena. Pretty much every major business in the U.S. uses Microsoft Exchange servers for their email, so acquiring Blackberry would have the added benefit of securing its leading position inside U.S. corporate IT infrastructure.