Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) formally launched its BlackBerry Mobile Fusion product for enterprise customers, which provides mobile device management support for devices running Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platforms in addition to BlackBerry devices.
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Click here for RIM's introductory video for BlackBerry Mobile Fusion. |
The service, which was first announced in November, builds on RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Server heritage, but is also an acknowledgement that more and more people are bringing iPhones and Android smartphones into the workplace. The service, part of RIM's enterprise services business, will be one of the key points RIM will use to differentiate itself as it refocuses its business on its core strengths. Last week RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said RIM would place more emphasis on enterprise customers and services, though the company also stated firmly that it was not abandoning the consumer device market.
"For businesses and government, managing a mix of mobile devices on any scale is chaotic. Organizations face pressure to allow employees to bring their own devices into the workplace, and they are looking to RIM as the global leader in the enterprise mobility space to solve that problem," said Alan Panezic, RIM's vice president of enterprise product management. "BlackBerry Mobile Fusion allows organizations to manage a mixed environment of devices in the most secure, simple, and cost efficient manner possible. It also means that businesses and government do not have to move to the lowest common denominator on security for all the devices they need to manage."
RIM touts many of the features of Mobile Fusion as functions that will make iOS and Android devices more secure in the workplace than they otherwise would be. The features include support for multiple devices per user, application and software management, connectivity management for Wi-Fi and VPN networks, remote locking or wiping and high scalability.
In other mobile device security news, mobile chipset designer ARM Holdings said it is joining with Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient to create a joint venture to spur the adoption of a common security standard for devices such as smartphones, tablets and game consoles. The joint venture, which does not yet have a name, will develop technology based on established solutions from the founding companies, and is aimed at building consumer trust in transactions they make with their devices.
For more:
- see this RIM release
- see this ARM release
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
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