Menu
Dell jumps into enterprise mobility management

Dell jumps into enterprise mobility management

Dell Software Wednesday introduced a suite of software and services for enterprise mobility management, including a "secure workspace" for mobile devices that lets enterprise IT managers separate work from data apps.

Dell's entry into the secure workspace arena pits it against a host of other competitors, including AirWatch, Aruba Networks, Cellrox, Citrix, Enterproid, Fixmo, MobileSpaces, OpenPeak, Red Bend, Samsung and VMware. Dell Software's director of mobility solutions, Roger Bjork, acknowledges it's a crowded field but says Dell's overarching strategy encompasses not just management of devices such as Apple iOS, Google Android and Windows Pro tablets, but also Macs, Windows-based PCs, Linux PCs as well as thin clients. As such, Dell is looking at providing commonality in encryption, security policy and provisioning across a wide range of computing resources.

+ MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Many organizations struggle to define mobile work/play boundaries +

Dell's thinking on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) includes PCs and Macs, not just smartphones and tablets, because the enterprise often sees business partners bringing them in as part of work. It's "Bring Your Own PC," Bjork says. Dell is offering a way to create a controlled corporate image for this, and the Dell mobility offering will provide that through help from partner Moka5.

But the balance of Dell's push into enterprise mobility management, especially its "secure workspace," is based on in-house development, plus technologies gained through acquisitions over the years, says Bjork. From the Wyse acquisition, Dell gained the SaaS infrastructure, and from the Kace buy, the systems and asset management that are part of Dell Enterprise Mobility Management suite of software products and services.

"This is our first workspace container," says Bjork, noting that it will include controls associated with email, calendar, contacts, secure mobile browser and local file explorer. Dell says it expects to price the mobility offering on a subscription basis when it's made available early next year.

Ellen Messmer is senior editor at Network World, an IDG publication and website, where she covers news and technology trends related to information security. Twitter: MessmerE. E-mail: emessmer@nww.com

Read more about anti-malware in Network World's Anti-malware section.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags GooglewirelessAppleVMwareNetworkingDellMDManti-malwareAruba networksWireless ManagementAirWatchFixmo

More about AirWatch AustraliaAirWatch AustraliaAppleAruba Wireless NetworksAruba Wireless NetworksCitrix Systems Asia PacificDellGoogleIDGLinuxMacsSamsungVMware AustraliaWyse

Show Comments
[]