Symantec beefs up enterprise mobility

  • Two new programs aimed at helping enterprises beef up mobile security and accelerate app deployment
  • New mobility software suite touts new subscription and perpetual pricing models

Symantec beefs up enterprise mobilitySECURITY solutions provider Symantec Corp has announced new offerings in Malaysia to help businesses accelerate their mobility initiatives and meet the challenges of managing a mobile workforce.
 
In addition to a new software suite, the offerings include two new programs – the App Center Ready Program designed to help developers rapidly build trusted enterprise apps with no code changes, and the Mobility Solution Specialization Program for channel partners.
 
Alex Ong (pic), country director of Symantec Malaysia, said that businesses today are relying more on mobility than ever before with more people working in multiple locations, at various times, and on a number of different devices
 
According to the Malaysia findings of Symantec’s 2012 State of Mobility Survey, nearly half (44%) of the organizations in Malaysia surveyed see mobility as a challenge that requires effort to manage.
 
The study also highlighted an uptake in mobile applications across organizations in Malaysia with 67% of enterprises in the country at least discussing deployment of custom mobile applications.
 
“Organizations are looking for applications, partners and products they can depend on to meet their mobility needs and achieve their business objectives. The two new programs announced today aims to address the mobility needs of businesses in Malaysia,” said Ong.
 
Symantec aims to simplifying this process by working directly with app developers and implementation partners to create a developer program that businesses can rely upon.
 
Stacy Crook, IDC’s senior analyst for Mobile Enterprise Research, said with the increase of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and mobile application programs, IT departments are looking for secure and efficient ways to enable mobility.
 
“They need tools to help them deal with various use cases to achieve a comfortable level of control over the devices, applications and data, all without trampling on device ease of use and user productivity. The need for such tools is only going to increase as workforces become more mobile,” she added.
 
New offerings for enterprise

Ong said that with the two new programs and a complete suite of enterprise mobility solutions, Symantec addresses all five critical areas of enterprise mobility – user and app access, app and data protection, device management, threat protection and secure file sharing.

The App Center Ready Program allows mobile application developers to embed Symantec’s security and management features, such as encryption, authentication, data loss prevention policies, app distribution and revocation, into their apps without changing their source code.
 
According to Symantec, IT organizations can now deploy these apps across both iOS and Android platforms with the same level of management, protection and trust as in-house apps.
 
Mobile application developers in the program can accelerate adoption by eliminating additional coding and gain visibility for their apps through the App Center Ready catalogue, which lists all trusted apps certified by Symantec.
 
Developers can now focus on the functionality of their apps to create a great user experience while taking full advantage of Symantec’s strengths in protection and management.
 
The initial members of the program include popular business applications, such as Branchfire iAnnotate, Damaka Xavy, Emtrace MoxierMail, GoodReader, iKonic Apps, Infraware Polaris Office and Picsel SmartOffice. 
 
The Mobility Solution Specialization Program for channel partners will be available to channel partners globally by the end of 2012. It covers the full Symantec Mobile Management Suite and will provide partners with access to opportunity registration, expert resources, enablement programs, and accreditations in a multi-tier model.
 
Partners participating in the program will be able to establish compelling practices around enabling mobility with an end-to-end solution.
 
Symantec has also unveiled a single mobile suite spanning device management, application management and mobile security. This new suite can be deployed on a per-user meter with both subscription and perpetual pricing models.
 
“By consolidating our portfolio of mobile solutions into one suite that is priced per user, not by device, we help IT organizations in Malaysia increase employee mobility and productivity without compromising protection with a straightforward, predictable deployment model. We are pleased to move to a licensing model that takes into account the reality companies are facing of two or more devices per employee,” said Ong.
 
The suite supports the major platforms, including iOS 6, Android 4.1 and Windows Phone 7.5, and features integrations with Symantec Endpoint Management and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager deployments. It also features new enhancements, such as application blacklisting, email access control and compliance management.
 
Symantec has also launched a new Android app for Symantec Managed PKI to transparently issue digital certificates to Android phones and tablets and make it easier to manage them. 
 
Companies can now automate certificate enrolment, updates and revocation, and lower management costs. Along with capabilities for other mobile platforms such as Apple iOS, Mac and Windows, the offering aims to help organizations increase their productivity and embrace BYOD initiatives with advanced device and user authentication.
 
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