Sybase subsidiary iAnywhere has added smart phones based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile software to the list of platforms supported by its Afaria software for securing devices in the field.
Afaria Security Manager is a client/server product that helps administrators secure company data on devices by enforcing the use of passwords and encrypting data. Administrators can also protect against theft by setting the software to erase data from a device if a user enters the wrong password several times.
The product is one of several modules in the Afaria suite for managing and administering handheld computers, laptops and other devices in the field. iAnywhere, in Dublin, Calif., acquired the Afaria products when it bought XcelleNet earlier this year.
Until now, the Security Manager module was available only for devices based on the Palm, Windows CE, Pocket PC and Pocket PC Mobile platforms, said Shari Freeman, manager of the XcelleNet product group. It now also supports Windows Mobile for Smartphone 2002 and 2003.
IAnywhere has about 2,000 customers for its Afaria products, Freeman said. Most of the customers use the software to manage devices used by sales teams, in restaurants or in retail stores, she said.
Not many of iAnywhere's customers use Windows-based smart phones today, but a growing number of them are thinking about it, Freeman said. Samsung and Motorola, along with several less well known vendors, offer phones running Microsoft's Smartphone software.
"Many organizations will look to a Microsoft (operating system) in the mobile environment because that's what they're familiar with in their existing environments," said Stephen Drake, program manager for mobile infrastructure software at IDC.
The Afaria modules are sold separately or as a bundle and can all be administrated from one console. Afaria Security Manager is priced at $29 per device. The server component, which works with all the modules, costs $5,000, Freeman said.
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