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This sounds like a pitch for a replacement to Good Technology or BlackBerry BES or MobileIron but tied to a single Android phone. I mean the headline says it's a secure phone but it looks like it will require Silent Circle as the communication go between. You can do that now on Android, BB 10, and iOS with BES 10. No special version of Android needed. Hate on BlackBerry all you want but they know security.

Yeah, there's software out there to do exactly that, that a lot of employers (I'm in the network security field) already require to be installed if you want to connect to work resources.

Whether it can be done and whether it can be done legally are two different things. If I understand you correctly, your company is installing software on employee's phones that can monitor and access their communications. That would seem to violate a number of federal laws. Of course one can argue that the employee is not required to have the software installed, but without it they cannot access corporate resources, so it is up to them. That is fine until you do what the article is talking about by requiring them to provide their own mobile device to have their job. Basically, if they must provide their own mobile device to do their work AND you require them to install corporate spyware, I mean security software on their phone, then effectively you are back to square one where you are monitoring and accessing their communications. If you further go and wipe their phone, you have now destroyed their personal data, or should I say IP? If you wipe their phone after they have terminated employment, then not only have you been monitoring and accessing a private citizens communications, but now you have destroyed their personal data and IP.

You cannot mandate that employees must provide their own devices and that you, as employer, have free reign to all of their personal data and communications. Well, you can, but plan on spending a lot of time in court.

Yeah, there's software out there to do exactly that, that a lot of employers (I'm in the network security field) already require to be installed if you want to connect to work resources.

There are already third party tools for that, and even if the current ones suck (I don't know, I haven't used any) sooner or later good ones will be created. e.g. http://www.mobileiron.com/

I'm surprised I'm the only one suggesting this: Android Management

Phone calls are already encrypted. Text messages stored on the phone will be encrypted if the phone's system storage is also encrypted. Data traffic can be encrypted by forcing the use of VPN back to the company's local network (and as such, web filtering, etc. also applied).

Most of these can be solved if IT is willing to actively engage their users and try to help them. Here are a few examples of how we've addressed the issues you've pointed out. Nothing is perfect but we're trying to work with our users. Some people can be tough to work with, but if you genuinely want to help them I find most people receptive. Remember that a big part of our job as IT is customer service.

1. We use HotSpot printing from Ricoh. Just e-mail the document, walk to MFP and choose the file to release.

2. Specify a password for AirPlay on your AppleTV so other people can't send video

3. Check out Volume Purchasing and MDM platforms like Air-Watch or MobileIron.

4. You can not save your iTunes password on an iPad, it's not possible.

I've heard a lot of people say "Well why do you NEED an iPad". I honestly never understood the need for an iPad either, until I was given one. After spending some time with it, I think it's a great tool and almost indispensable now. What if we turned it around - tell me why users shouldn't be able to use their iOS devices, given that it's been proven that they can be deployed safely and effectively by using the appropriate procedures and management tools.

It's really not a big deal. Call Air-Watch or MobileIron or one of the 20 other companies that build comprehensive MDM platforms, get a quote, then put it in his mailbox with a note that says "need this to get your e-mail on your iPad".

There are several good tools for managing iOS and Android devices. Like Air-Watch and MobileIron.

Apple now supports Mobile Device Management platforms (Air-Watch is my favorite, MobileIron is also popular, but more expensive) that allow easy end-user provisioning, think of something along the lines of Enterprise Activation using Blackberry Enterprise Server. It also allows a significant amount of control over the device, like what apps can be installed, password requirements, remote lock/wipe, etc.

As far as bulk purchasing apps, Apple now has the "Volume Purchasing Program" that makes it easy to buy multiple copies of each App. Basically you go buy X copies of the app, you're given X download codes, you distribute those to your iOS device users and they use them to purchase the app.

Regarding encryption, iOS devices are also encrypted with 256bit AES hardware encryption (warning, that's a PDF - see page 3). To be honest with the tools available today it's not very difficult to manage Android and especially iOS devices.

Yes, you can use EAS or IMAP/CalDAV/CardDAV to get an iOS, Android or WM/WP device to work, but none of them are anywhere near as secure or manageable as BES. For the consumer or light business user, yes, EAS is fine, and geeks can suffer with IMAP+DAV and it's limitations, but as you increase either the number of users or the security and manageability requirements, they don't scale. Anyone who says otherwise has never actually used BES and has no idea what it does.

I disagree. I manage BES and ActiveSync in an enterprise environment. Some may like BES, but I don't see any real advantage in scalability in my environment. It is much easier to provision an Activesync device since I don't have to provide full access to the user's mailbox to a third party (BES service) user account, not to mention the security implications associated with a privileged account that can access everything in every BB users' mailboxes. If I need an audit trail on a user's mailbox, I would prefer all access to be done through the user's specific account. I find it just as simple to perform a remote wipe for a device through Exchange ActiveSync as I do with BES.

That said, as soon as someone duplicates what BES can do on iOS, Android and/or WP, BlackBerry is dead to the enterprise. It'll be Symbian all over again, and RIM will be left selling featurephones to teenagers, third-worlders, and third-world teenagers.

We're already there. MobileIron, Air-Watch, and Air Patrol are a few options out there. They cost money, but they have the functionality.

Additionally, the C-level administrators generally love the iPhone and iPad unless they have been long-term Blackberry users. Even those are frequently leaning toward the Apple devices. RIM has fallen behind in the usability department, and I am not sure they can catch up.