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MobileIron, a security and management specialist for mobile apps, content and devices, announced the availability of Anyware, a cloud-based solution for enterprise mobility management (EMM) that features personalized app and content catalogs, one-touch configuration, and app ratings and recommendations.
Anyware, which supports Google’s Android operating system version 4.0 and higher and Apple’s iOS version 5.0 and higher, leverages the Salesforce Platform, which allows businesses to build applications, and offers a host of security and other mobile services.
The Anyware platform allows IT managers to block untrusted devices and wipe business apps when required, as well as protect business data while preserving the privacy of personal data. In addition, Anyware gives Salesforce administrators the ability to manage a mobile deployment through the Salesforce interface.
“We expect adoption of cloud solutions for mobile management to see a significant uptake over the next few years,” Stacy Crook, program manager for mobile enterprise research at IT analytics firm IDC, said in a statement. “Solutions like Anyware by MobileIron that are purpose-built for mobility can help accelerate that adoption and allow organizations to realize the full productivity benefits of mobile without sacrificing security.”
Administrators can set security policies, configure WiFi and email, and manage device inventory, as well as publish apps and content through a single interface, by individual or group. Anyware enables Salesforce administrators to distribute mobile apps to employees as well as secure and manage employees’ mobile devices right from the Salesforce administration console.
“Mobile is the greatest productivity enabler of the decade. Anyware by MobileIron lets every company, whether small or large, quickly transform into a Mobile First organization,” Bob Tinker, CEO of MobileIron, said in a statement. “Anyware combines a fantastic user experience with the enterprise-grade security customers expect from MobileIron. But the true power of Anyware is that its massive scalability allows us to build what we believe will be the strongest cloud EMM business model in the industry.”
Mobile device management (MDM) and mobile security are becoming increasingly important—and vexing—issues for IT departments as the growth of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs brings up new challenges regarding data protection and personal privacy.
More companies are expected to allow employees to bring their own devices into the enterprise, while others still seek to maintain tight control over devices and furnish them directly, according to an IDC report released in June.
The firm believes that by the end of 2013, 177.8 million smartphones will end up as employee-liable devices, up a strong 108.6 percent from the 85.2 million smartphones in 2012. In the same vein, corporate-liable smartphone shipments will reach 90.0 million units in 2013, up 65.5 percent from the 54.4 million units in 2012.
“Where the enterprise goes, so goes mobility,” Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phones team, wrote in the report. “While the numbers clearly point out to more business use uptake in the years to come, they also point out to numerous challenges and opportunities that employees and enterprises must address: security, mobile device management, mobile applications management, and multiple platforms among others to say the very least. To this end, comprehensive solutions are warranted.”