RIM unveils enterprise management that covers Android, iOS

BlackBerry Enterprise Solution helps iOS, Android

RIM as part of its slew of BlackBerry World unveilings extended a rare olive branch to other platforms. A new BlackBerry Enterprise Solution supports both RIM's own phones for BlackBerry Enterprise Server but also Android and iOS. A web-based console made by new acquisition Ubitexx gives companies control over activating devices, sending out apps, remote wipes and other controls for every platform that supports it.Bl

BlackBerry-specific controls support both the fine-grained controls of BES as well as the just-official BlackBerry Balance, which keeps corporate apps, accounts, and data away from personal info. The enterprise control lets IT wipe the phone's work data clean while letting the owner keep any personal data.

The Enterprise Solution should be available sometime later this year.

Support for non-BlackBerry hardware is a rare step from RIM and a possible acknowledgement that the company could no longer assume it had exclusive dominance of the workplace. Apple now claims to have either trials or deployments for the iPhone in 80 percent of the Fortune 500, and Good Technologies has noted increasing iOS activations. Android still has a small presence due to its less developed corporate support but has had increasing help from Android 2.2 on as well as phones like the Droid Pro intended to lure BlackBerry owners.

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  1. SockRolid 05/02, 03:13pm

    Better to adapt than die, eh?

  1. ferdchet 05/02, 07:24pm

    I think this is the right thing to do. Plenty of BES in the enterprise still, though it's not as strong as it was. If this mobile management platform really works across platforms it is a great Trojan horse for RIM. Pretty much every large enterprise I am talking to is looking at Good and they aren't impressed. "Meh, it works OK" is about as excited as people are getting about Good.

    Next step would be getting BBM to work cross platform. I loved that when I used BB.

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