Security deal for Microsoft Office phone apps

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

John Chen, CEO, Blackberry

BlackBerry shares rose about 5 percent after hours on Monday after announcing a new deal with Microsoft.

The company said it will partner with Microsoft to provide a secure environment for Microsoft Office apps like Excel, PowerPoint or Word. The product will help business users access the apps on Apple and Android devices.

The partnership highlights workers who require high levels of cybersecurity and compliance when they work from their phones: Employees of banks, healthcare providers, law firms, and central governments. The partnership also plays to one of BlackBerry’s strengths, enterprise, from the heyday of its mobile phone business.

BlackBerry announced in 2016 it would stop hardware design and manufacturing of mobile phones, marking the demise of the iconic keyboard-clad handsets. But at that time, BlackBerry CEO John Chen told CNBC the company was “really more worried about the ‘smart’ of the smartphone, not the ‘phone’ part of it.”