Focused security for device, apps, content

According to MobileIron’s Director of Marketing and Products in APAC, Jonathan Andresen, an earlier iteration of EMM or enterprise mobile management is mobile device management or MDM. “MDM was just to secure operating systems and the device, with other basic functions like sync-ing data,” he described.

Needless to say MDM has evolved to become EMM, a more comprehensive approach to mobility in the enterprise.

“Now, apps and content are becoming more important, so EMM is about securing apps and data on devices that are corporate-owned.”

In summary, EMM for MobileIron has the key role of helping enterprises deploy apps and to enable them (apps) to talk to each other.

(L-R): Bob Tinker and Jonathan Andresen

To that end, MobileIron works closely with app development partners, so that their customers and potential customers can take steps towards being mobile-first, by taking advantage of MobileIron’s over 270 pre-tested enterprise and consumer apps.

Andresen explained, “We have adapted these apps to work securely on MobileIron’s platforms for customers to use.”

AppConnect

AppConnect, is a MobileIron solution that secures and protects enterprise mobile apps, and apps that are AppConnect-enabled reside and run within a protected container, on devices. In short, MobileIron transforms a mobile app into a secure app and also manages its entire lifecycle, from deployment, setting and enforcing policies, reporting analytical usage for apps, all the way to revoking app privileges.

According to Andresen, MobileIron has the biggest EMM app ecosystem in the world

Business in Asia

Asia is MobileIron’s biggest growth engine and according to its CEO, Bob Tinker who was recently in Singapore, “We have teams selling and supporting large enterprises. Many of the large manufacturing, FSI and government customers are Mobile Iron’s, and we will continue to invest in acquiring new customers in Asia.”

Tinker opined that legacy, PC-oriented companies are fading into retirement, carving themselves up to be bought by private equity firms or closing down.

“Next-generation IT companies are being born and MobileIron is the next-generation security for them.”

So lucrative is this mobile security and management space, that companies not traditionally offering those solutions, suddenly are.

But Tinker sees competition in the mobile security and management space, thinning out. He said, “Focus matters and being purpose-built matters.

“In market deals we are only seeing VMware and Airwatch. We used to see Good Technology and Citrix,… but not anymore.”