Samsung, which, like Apple, has made no secret of its intention to move into new sectors that don’t necessarily involve the consumer market, announced Feb. 22 that it is now targeting enterprise mobility and productivity as its next initiative.
The Seoul-based conglomerate said it is working on new mobility and productivity products, ranging from hardware to business applications as well as creating a set of unique solutions secured by Samsung’s KNOX security platform.
These solutions will be available starting with the Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone, which is being previewed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. The Galaxy S7, which is available for pre-order now, will be generally available later this year.
Following more than a decade of vetting, the Google-created Android operating system is now considered a secure and trusted platform ready for enterprises to deploy high-power business applications. Samsung is readying a new mobile security platform that will run on the Galaxy S7, the company said.
At the time of the Galaxy 7 launch, Samsung also will make available Android for Work, a business app platform protected by KNOX. KNOX will enable AFW users to deploy the same core security elements of hardware-backed protection that government and other highly regulated industries receive when they use Samsung KNOX, the company said.
Samsung’s Enterprise Device Program starts with the Galaxy S7 smartphone and includes a separate set of service options. Two of the key ones are:
–Monthly Security Updates: In 2015, Samsung began working with industry partners and operators to distribute monthly Android security updates on Samsung Galaxy devices. Samsung has extended their security commitments to now include over 100 countries. These critical security updates include both Android core and Samsung specific security patches. This gives the global customer base assurances they will receive security updates in a timely manner to maximize device security and productivity, Samsung said.
–-Two-year Device Purchase Program: Samsung said it recognizes the need for enterprises to have a complete device lifecycle management program in place. Enterprise customers are now able to take advantage of a two-year purchase assurance program for select device models, starting with the Galaxy S7, giving them the ability to purchase the same device model up to two years from the device’s market availability.
This program will simplify how customers define their fleet of devices and manage their refresh cycles, Samsung said.