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Cloud infrastructure specialist Perimeter E-Security is jumping into the burgeoning mobile-device-management market with the launch of Cloud MDM service, a device, application and content management solution for Apple iOS, Google Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices, designed to help businesses protect company data on employee-owned and company-issued smartphones and tablets. The service features technology powered by mobile content management specialist AirWatch, best-practice security policies, and integration with Perimeter email and other services.
In addition, the platform offers hundreds of controls to enable IT administrators to configure email, wireless, security and other details. Preconfigured policies such as encryption enforcement and bi-level, standards-aligned passcode polices are packaged with the platform that align with U.S. federal standards for electronic authentication strength. Customers can use these device policies as-is through the default settings or extend them as needed to configure with specific organizational requirements.
Other features include a model acceptable-use policy and accompanying policy guidance, co-developed in partnership with the law firm Proskauer Rose, to help companies implement and manage the risks of employee-owned bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs. Cloud MDM also allows administrators to wipe devices fully clean, or wipe only enterprise managed data and settings while leaving personal information intact. Other privacy-protection capabilities limit the collection of personally identifiable information (PII) to help reduce privacy exposures and align with European Union (EU) and American local, state and federal privacy laws.
“Enterprise CIOs want to take advantage of new mobile opportunities, but unlike desktop computing, with mobile, CIOs must navigate a minefield. Diverse operating systems, hundreds of devices of suspect provenance, privacy concerns and new ownership models make it impossible to know how to keep company data secure,” Andrew Jaquith, CTO of Perimeter E-Security, said in a prepared statement. “Perimeter’s new Cloud MDM simplifies the complex security and policy choices enterprises must make. Instead of giving customers a ‘me-too’ technology solution that leaves the messy security, policy and privacy details up to them, Cloud MDM provides a prescriptive solution that includes zero-configuration best-practice security policies, a BYOD kit, privacy controls and complete email integration right out of the box.”
The launch of Cloud MDM comes as organizations of all sizes are grappling with the security and administrative challenges inherent in a BYOD initiative. According to an August study on BYOD adoption by IT research firm Gartner, U.S. CIOs said they expect 38 percent of their workforces to use personal devices at work by the end of 2012. While employees have been using personal devices in the workplace for some time, the open adoption of this phenomenon by the corporate world has led to a new era of opportunities and challenges presented by the “consumerization” of IT.