RIM Enters MDM Market With BlackBerry Mobile Fusion

Research In Motion today announced its entry into the multi-platform Mobile Device Management (MDM) market with the launch of its new enterprise mobility solution, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion.

This offering, claims the company, will enable organisations to manage smartphones and tablets running BlackBerry, Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems.

Playing well with others

“BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings together our Enterprise Server (version 5.0.3) for BlackBerry smartphones, new management capabilities for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets built on BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology and mobile device management for smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS operating systems,” said RIM in a statement.

Alan Panezic, Vice President, Enterprise Product Management and Marketing at Research In Motion said “BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings together our BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology for BlackBerry devices with mobile device management capabilities for iOS and Android devices, all managed from one web-based console. It provides the necessary management capabilities to allow IT departments to oversee the use of both company-owned and employee-owned mobile devices within their organisations.”

According to the company,the growth in demand for mobile device management solutions has been led by the consumerisation of the enteprise, and the increased adoption of smartphones and tablets, both company-provisioned and employee-owned (Bring Your Own Device or BYOD) , which in turn has led to CIOs and IT departments struggling to manage and control the plethora of wireless devices accessing confidential company information on the corporate network.

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, apart from the general device management tools it is set to offer, will also introduce new self-service functionality for employees to secure lost or stolen BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

The offering, said the company in its statement,  is currently in early beta testing with select enterprise customers. “RIM is now accepting customer nominations for the closed beta program which will start in January, and general availability is expected in late March.”