BlackBerry conveyed plans to deliver some of the technology of BlackBerry Balance, the BB10 feature that securely separates work and personal data on a smartphone, to Android and Apple iOS devices. BlackBerry said the new security service for third party platforms, called Secure Work Space, will bring a solution that will allow users to separate and secure work and personal data on non-BlackBerry devices, thus allowing these devices to also serve as their work phones. The company says it will deliver "as many of these features as possible" to Android and iOS through its BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. BlackBerry is in closed beta testing and expects to push the update to BES 10 by the second quarter of 2013.
What Else You Need To Know
- BlackBerry Balance was one of the key features touted by the Company in the BlackBerry Z10 launch in January, calling it a differentiator between the new BB10 software and competing platforms.
- Although their basic features are similar (allowing administrators to separate and protect corporate data), Work Space will not be a 1-to-1 conversion of Balance.
- The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend helped BlackBerry's market share the past several years as people bring their Android smartphones and iPhones to work.
- BlackBerry said BES 10 will offer employees the flexibility they desire in using any mobile device but at the same time would allow administrators to secure client applications for email, calendar, contacts, tasks, memos, secure browsing, and document editing.
Other sources
BlackBerry has and continues to be the only choice for enterprises with security, functionality, and collaborative mobile strategies in mind.- Luke Reimer, InsideBlackBerry
Although the BYOD trend indeed helps companies boost productivity, there is a lack of tools for addressing security, data loss and privacy concerns, as the devices contain sensitive data, and they are used outside the corporate firewall.- István Fekete, iPhone in Canada Blog
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