MDM companies leverage open APIs
The new Apple iOS 4 operating system is now downloadable with the multitasking, VoIP and push notification support many iPhone users have been awaiting. Alongside the enhanced OS, some third-party management tools are coming to make the iPhone and other Apple “i-devices” more friendly to enterprise IT departments, as well.
You may recall that when Apple announced version 4 of the iPhone’s operating system, it alluded to forthcoming mobile device management (MDM) services “that can be integrated with third-party servers to wirelessly configure, query and even wipe or lock managed iPhones.”
First look: Apple’s new iPhone 4
Indeed, Apple opened up APIs that have allowed several MDM companies to build more enterprise-class mobility solutions for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Good Technology says its Good for Enterprise – iPhone product is already available. Among those prepping i-device management and security support for the third quarter are MobileIron, Sybase iAnywhere and AirWatch.
Prior to this latest release of the iPhone operating system, MDM companies had very little visibility into the iPhone configuration, security and management data and could give enterprises only so much control over policy setting and compliance. For example, security updates were applied only when a user accepted them, explains Ojas Rege, vice president of products and marketing at MobileIron.
With the new iOS 4, MDM makers can now make sure that enterprises are able to successfully push policies — such as whether a camera is enabled/disabled or Wi-Fi access is permitted — to phones without requiring user cooperation.
The forthcoming applications from the vendors mentioned allow enterprises to publish a catalog of an enterprise’s in-house applications, which users can download over the air, circumventing the iTunes delivery channel. Different apps can be made available to different users, based on the organization’s policy.
For its part, MobileIron also addresses expense management with a feature that can alert iPhone users and IT departments when the iPhone smartphone is subject to international roaming charges. Based on the alert, users can takes steps to minimize roaming charges, or IT can block the phone from using wireless data, Rege says.
This capability is keeping with the spirit of AT&T’s own new monitoring and alert capabilities that accompany its tiered smart phone data plans. AT&T now notifies users when they are approaching a usage threshold and educates them about how much bandwidth various activities consume.
For now, MobileIron is focused only on international roaming and not on domestic usage thresholds, says Rege says.
