Let’s look at the alliance network of RIM. This picture is built by looking at the RIM’s alliance announcements between 2008 and 2011. Since these alliances happened a while ago, their positive or negative effects should be felt by now.

RIM is the firm at the centre of the picture and it has 4 (four!) alliance partners only. The alliance with the Royal Bank of Canada and Thompson Reuters (Woodbridge is its parent company) provided venture capital fund services to invest in mobile applications and services in Canada. The alliance with TiVo aimed at providing mobile television entertainment services for BlackBerry users globally. The alliance with NII Holdings Inc was to provide Blackberry Smartphone services in Latin America.

Samsung works with Kia motors to build the car around its Galaxy tab, manufactures 4 G communication infrastructure in Russia, collaborates with Telstra to develop Internet TV for mobile devices, works with Nanosys to build better screens and batteries for smartphones using the nanotechnology. It works with Intel and Juniper on mobile security solutions and works with Korean Telecom (plus Intel) to transmit 3D signal through the mobile grid. It works with Dreamworks and Technicolor (Thompson) to develop 3D movies and viewing equipment. We might soon have 3D video enabled mobile phones!!!… Not to mention the fact that Samsung uses apps from Android platform for its phones.

In short, the alliance network of Samsung allows it more (and cheaper) opportunities to innovate not only in hardware but also in content.

The sad story of RIM did not begin this year. It began several years ago when it failed to build a big enough network of alliances and partnerships to counter the network of Samsung (and of course the network of Apple). Samsung has excelled at the global alliance game extracted its Network Advantage. Kudos to Samsung and condolences to RIM. May your company not repeat the RIM’s mistakes!