Image courtesy of BlackBerry
News out of Toronto is that Blackberry is looking to help separate and secure work and personal data on devices running Android and iOS.
Being developed as the new update to Blackberry Balance as well as a third-party solution for other platforms, the aptly dubbed Secure Work Space solution will have a separate and ‘secure work space’ to keep those all too important company apps, calendars, work emails and contacts, and a few other things corporate might consider sensitive information.
It will also allow IT admins to configure, secure, wipe and interact with the Secure Work Space while employees continue their own personal experience on the same device, be it a tablet or phone. This is part of Blackberry Enterprise Service 10’s mobility management capabilities set to be ready by the end of June of this year.
Other benefits include a trusted Blackberry security extended to iOS and Android. No need for an expensive VPN infrastructure to secure data in transit. 3rd party MDM (Mobile Device Management) providers are not needed.
Deployment is straightforward, with all components on a single server. Global and flexible technical support is available for all aspects of the solution, further reducing the need for multiple IT and mobility vendors. So, in essence, it’s secure and can get an IT admin a pat on the back from Finance for saving some money long-term. With the number of different devices in the work place, Secure Work Space looks to be a win win for IT, employees and the bottom line.
Beta testing for Secure Work Space is currently underway and you can expect more details at their Blackberry Live Conference, held May 14-16 at the Orlando World Center Marriott. The official launch is set for the end of the second quarter.
See below for part of the official press release:
The Secure Work Space solution enables customers to save considerable effort and expense as they no longer need to configure and manage expensive VPN infrastructures to provide mobile device access to data and applications that reside behind their corporate firewalls. With end-to-end enterprise mobility management, a straightforward deployment process, and a global and flexible technical support model, BlackBerry offers a secure and reliable solution as the clear choice for enterprises and governments to support BYOD policies for iOS and Android platforms. Additional applications can easily be secured and added to the workspace, without the need to modify source code.
“The vast majority of smartphones on the market aren’t adequately secure for corporate or government work,” said Robert Enderle, Principal Analyst, Enderle Group. “Currently BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 combined with BlackBerry Balance or Secure Work Space has the only volume solution which has been designed from the ground up to provide the security most IT departments require. With this announcement BlackBerry is expanding beyond their own top to bottom approach to security to address this need on other platforms. With this product BlackBerry is showcasing their security legacy by providing a stronger cross-platform security solution than anyone else can in the market.”
