Kindle Fire HDX Might Work in the Enterprise: 10 Reasons Why

by Don Reisinger

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX will ship with the built-in OfficeSuite that includes word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications. Add that to the Kindle Fire HDX’s ability to print all kinds of documents wirelessly, and the company might have a winner on its hands.

Amazon made the exceptionally smart decision to bundle 4G LTE into its Kindle Fire HDX. If the company wants to attract more enterprise customers, that is the best feature to offer because it enables access to the Web anywhere and everywhere.

Amazon has bundled support for Google Apps for Business in the Kindle Fire HDX. Although it’s not necessarily the most popular corporate platform, it’s gaining considerable ground on Microsoft’s Office. It’s nice to see Amazon include different options in the Kindle Fire HDX.

If Google Apps for Business is coming to the Kindle Fire HDX, it would only make sense that Amazon would also include Outlook support for customers who need it. According to the company, full Outlook access will be available in addition to Exchange support to allow for access to email while on the go.

One of the big complaints companies have is their inability to access support whenever they want. With the included “Mayday” feature, the Kindle Fire HDX will come with on-device support 24/7. Expect that to be a huge selling point for customers.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX appeals to the many corporate employees and companies that want devices that are easy to bring along on long trips. The Kindle Fire HDX delivers that with its lightweight, 11-ounce body (for the LTE version) and a thin, 0.35-inch frame. It also comes with up to 11 hours of battery life, making it a nice companion on long trips away from power plugs.

Who can argue with the Kindle Fire HDX’s price? The 7-inch model starts at just $229, while the 8.9-inch option will set customers back only $379. Amazon has found a way to deliver a high-quality product at an extremely affordable price, and that factor alone will get the attention of enterprise buyers.

The Kindle Fire HDX comes with hardware-based encryption, which means data stored on the tablet should be kept secure. In addition, the tablet includes certificate enrollment for secure access to corporate resources, full network configuration options for IT managers and application management. It’s truly a full-featured enterprise product.

Access control has proved to be one of the chief ways Amazon is making its sales pitch to the enterprise. The company’s new Kindle Fire HDX comes with full support for VPNs and authentication protocols. The device also comes with a Single Sign-On feature for access to corporate intranets.

Many IT decision-makers look at Android as a huge security risk and don’t want Android devices accessing corporate networks or databases. Although Amazon’s platform is based on Android, Fire OS is actually the company’s own take on Google’s software. What that means is that Amazon keeps close eye on its operating system, secures it and fixes bugs more quickly than Google would. So, while companies might be investing in Android with the Kindle Fire HDX, it’s not a full jump into Google land.