Smartphone major BlackBerry has previewed a new multi-platform cloud-based enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution.
At Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013, BlackBerry said the new cloud-based EMM solution enables enterprises to support BYOD, ensure security, allowing employees to enjoy the content and apps they demand.
Closed beta testing for the new cloud-based EMM solution is already underway. The service will be available as a single monthly subscription that covers both the license and technical support, and is expected to be generally available by the end of November 2013.
According to Gartner, half of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes by 2017.
Gartner also predicts that through 2014, employee-owned devices will be compromised by malware at more than double the rate of corporate-owned devices, putting device and app management high on the priority list for business and IT leaders alike.
BlackBerry’s new multi-platform EMM cloud solution will offer mobile device management (MDM), mobile application management (MAM), security standards, and self-service capabilities for the end-user.
“The new cloud-based EMM solution will bring all the benefits of our on-premise offering, which is trusted by more businesses and governments around the world than any other enterprise mobility solution, to customers as a cloud service that lets them easily manage BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices more cost efficiently than ever before,” said Stephen Bates, Head of the Enterprise Business Unit at BlackBerry.
BlackBerry says the simple Web-based admin console will provide easy activation and deployment of BlackBerry, iOS and Android smartphones, app management, security policy configuration and compliance monitoring.
Administrators can secure, deploy and manage apps. Administrators will be able to build a catalog of public apps from the App Store, Google Play and the BlackBerry World storefront, and then view app distribution and usage for all users and devices.
End-users can manage their own devices through the self-service console. End-users will be able to easily perform common management tasks such as setting up or changing device passwords and remote wipe and lock without relying on an administrator, giving them independence and saving on helpdesk calls.
As a service, the new cloud-based EMM solution will minimize the complexity of managing a fleet of disparate mobile devices, and will be beneficial for IT departments that are strained in today’s business environment, and essential for teams or businesses without an IT department.
It will also eliminate the need for organizations to purchase any servers or software – administrators will simply register online then log in to the web-based management console to define users, enroll devices, set security controls, and deploy apps.
