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BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has had a couple of rough years, prompting some experts to speculate whether the Canadian telecommunications equipment company is inching closer to its demise.It's quite the change from just five years ago when RIM was leading the smart phone sales game with its seemingly ubiquitous BlackBerry line of handheld devices.

But with competitors such as Apple’siPhone and other Android-based devices rapidly gaining ground and winning over customers, RIM has lost its edge on the market. Its stock has fallen to unprecedented low levels, and has in the past yearlost 77 percent of its value.

Adding to RIM’s hardship is the laundry list of misfortunes, including a multiple-day global service outage in October 2011, which prompted infuriated users to taketo Twitter to vent their frustrations. Another service disruption occurred in March 2012, affecting users in the Asia Pacific region. The problem was solved within hours but it nonetheless added to thePR nightmare RIM had been plagued with.

For RIM, dusting itself off and regaining customers’ trust will continue to be an uphill battle, said Benjamin Robbins, principal at Palador, a Seattle,Wash.-based consulting firm that provides strategic guidance in mobility, policy and apps.

“Not only have they fallen behind in terms of capabilities but they also have lost their preeminent place asa ‘secure’ solution,” said Robbins, a guest contributor on mobility for the Guardian. “Organizations can now experience greater productivity and the same level of security as was once only achievedwith [BlackBerry].”

For many federal employees, the BlackBerry has been their smart phone of choice primarily because of its built-in security features. The Defense Department, for example, in Mayapproved agencywide use of BlackBerry 7 smart phones, Government Computer News reported.

However, BlackBerry’s status as the go-to device for feds could be changing. General Service Administration...