Apps stores go enterprise thanks to MobileIron

Rating: Power to the IT people

IT management software provider, MobileIron has introduced its latest version [2.0] of its Virtual Smartphone Platform. There’s a whole bunch of fancy new facilities but one of the most intriguing is the capability of building an in-house apps store.

There’s no doubt that network managers (otherwise known as network N*z*s) freak out when they lose control of data. This problem is exactly what version 2.0 of this  enterprise software hopes to address.

The trick, apparently,  is to lull users into a false sense of security so that they co-operate like mad with the hierarchy inside a typical large-scale organisation.

MobilIron claim that through the use of its software a typical customer can enjoy a cost-saving of around 10 to 20 per cent on a typical mobile phone usage bill.

To deflect user resistance, the company has subtly changed it stance. As Bob Tinker, CEO with MobileIron says, “Our customers are evolving from a traditional ‘command-and-control’ approach to one that enlists the employee as part of the solution.

With MobileIron Release 2.0, we are launching a new set of services to address this challenge and enable our customers to establish a culture of self-governance under IT guidance.”

There are three major elements within MobileIron Release 2.0: – MyPhone@Work;  Event Centre and Enterprise App Store.

The App Store makes sense because it dissuades smartphone users from within an organisation from going off and downloading apps on an individual basis.

Not only does such behaviour leave an enterprise open to possible malware/virus attacks, it creates support nightmare where employees are running different releases of the same programs.

With the Enterprise App Store, MobileIron provides each customer with their own customised Enterprise App Store, transforming the delivery model of enterprise applications from ‘push’ to ‘publish’.

Employees then browse their Enterprise App Store through the MyPhone@Work portal and select the applications best suited for them.

Meanwhile, the IT department publishes approved internal and external applications, noting whether they are supported and/or reimbursed, and defining access based on user role or IT policy.

MobileIron supports Apple iPhone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Nokia Symbian, Palm webOS, and RIM BlackBerry, with Google Android coming soon (Oops).

MobileIron persuaded Chris Field, a director of IT infrastructure with Netgear to give to provide an endorsement. “What has been so valuable about the MobileIron platform is that it gives us the real-time data that we always wanted,” Field said. Exactly.