Tag: mobile device management

The struggling Canadian handset manufacturer is now looking to new device management application options.

As a growing number of smartphone users turn their sights toward third party mobile apps in order to manage their gadgets, BlackBerry has now announced that it will be opening up its current operating system – BlackBerry 10 – to its rivals as a part of an overall strategy that would give products from other companies the ability to manage their gadgets.

The company claims that there have been a number of parties that have expressed interest in this area.

According to BlackBerry, it has seen interest from Citrix, SAP, AirWatch, and even IBM, in being capable of providing mobile apps that would manage the smartphones from that company. BlackBerry released a statement that quoted the Gartner research firm in saying that “Mobile device management (MDM) remains a top priority for IT buyers, and investment levels are growing steadily. Competition among players drives commoditization.”

This BlackBerry acknowledgement regarding third party mobile apps underscores an important trend.

BlackBerry’s statement went on to further quote Gartner by saying that “Proliferation of and demand for workplace mobility necessitate the need for quality and flexible management tools.” Because of this, said BlackBerry, the company is now seeking to be able to work with the aforementioned companies that have expressed interest in giving their customers the “most flexible solution” in order to be able to “support a broader enterprise mobility strategy.”

This places an even greater spotlight on the rising trend among consumers to look to third party opportunities to provide them with their mobile device management options. This is especially true as companies open up their bring your own device (BYOD) policies to a growing number of different types of gadgets.

By introducing this new mobile apps policy, it is BlackBerry’s method of making certain that its own handsets will continue their relevance and will hold onto the foothold they have made within the enterprise space. There, many of the large scale networks are already managed by MDM applications provided by third party vendors. At the same time, the company has clearly stated that it will be continuing to offer its own multi-platform enterprise mobility management platform, the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES10).

Whether your company has an official policy on bringing your own device or not, employees are increasingly doing work on their own tablets, smartphones, laptops and personal computers. CIOs reported 28 percent of their employees were working on their own devices at least part of the time, According to a recent global survey reported by PWC. Gartner predicts that this number will rise up to 70 percent by 2018.

Security issues, data integrity, MDM (mobile device management) logistical problems, and compliance difficulties all arise from bring your own device. BYOD policies benefit from reducing technology overhead and learning curves, as well as increasing employee satisfaction since they’re using a device they prefer personally. The education sector in particular has been heavily promoting bring your own device, for both students and faculty. According to Ed Tech Magazine, 85 percent allow some form of BYOD. This allows the schools to expand the way students learn, although it does open up major security issues. One way to mitigate a number of the issues that come with this concept is through sandboxing.

What is Sandboxing?

A sandbox, in this context, refers to creating an isolated virtual environment on the smartphone. It doesn’t interact with the operating system, apps or data on the personal device. It limits access to system files and other device resources, making it harder for viruses and other malware to gain a foothold, according to TechHive. One of the leading forms of sandboxing in the mobile environment is Blackberry’s Enterprise Service, which handles mobile device management.

Blackberry Enterprise Service

Blackberry has always had a reputation for solid, enterprise level mobile technology that puts security concerns as the top priority. Blackberry Enterprise Service 10 is a powerful tool for a system administrator who is tired of pulling his hair out over unsecured personal smartphones connecting to company network resources. It supports Blackberry 10, Android and iOS platforms, so you can integrate pretty much anyone’s device who wants to use it on the network.

How it Works

All of the devices are managed through a central control panel, making the IT administrator’s job much easier, as the application is also capable of being run on a single server. The main feature of Blackberry Enterprise Service is the Secure Work Space. This is a sandboxed environment that can be controlled by the administrator to meet any government compliance policies and regulations. It also includes a firewalled connection, so you don’t have to put out any additional funds for a virtual private network to connect your mobile devices with. The Blackberry phone already has a sandboxing feature built in called Blackberry balance. It creates two distinct work spaces, one personal and one business. The work space side of the app is completely encrypted and secured to mitigate potential security issues.

If you’re going to allow or promote bring your own device policies in your workplace, you need to have mobile device management in place ahead of time. Otherwise, you’re going to come into work one way with everyone shouting about a massive customer data breach that’s tanked your stock numbers.

Have you used a form of sandboxing in your workplace before?