Wednesday 6 August 2014

BlackBerry gets US clearance for Android and iOS device management service

TORONTO: BlackBerry said its Android and iOS device-management service has won key security clearance from the US Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).


The company said the DISA clearance will allow its customers in various US Department of Defense agencies to begin to use its BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) 10 system to manage and secure devices powered by Google's Android operating system and Apple's iOS software.BlackBerry launched the service to manage rival devices on its BES system a year ago, as part of a move that would help the company sell high-margin services to its large clients even if many, or all, their workers use smartphones made by its competitors.The new feature, dubbed Secure Work Space, is managed through BES 10, a new back-end system launched at the start of 2013 that allows BlackBerry's clients to control mobile devices on their internal networks.The decision to service non-BlackBerry devices came as the company's devices had waned in popularity with consumers.