Samsung Knox 2.0 Now Available On Galaxy S5 Smartphones

Samsung has started rolling out version 2.0 of its Knox mobile management platform, starting with the Korean manufacturer’s recently-launched Galaxy S5 flagship smartphone before coming to other Galaxy handsets through a software upgrade.

Knox 2.0 was announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year and forms part of Samsung’s bid to make a serious impact on the enterprise mobility market with the promise of protection from the kernel to application level.

Since its launch in October 2012, Samsung claims to have sold more than 25 million Knox-enabled devices and that the platform has already attracted more than one million users, with more than 210,000 activated each month.

Samsung Knox 2.0 rollout

“Knox has been widely deployed by enterprises since it became first commercially available in the market in September 2013,” boasts JK Shin Head of Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications Division. “As a result of this rapid adoption, we needed to evolve the Samsung Knox platform to directly address the ever-changing needs of the enterprise as we demonstrate our commitment to protect and respond to future enterprise mobility and security challenges.”

New security features include TrustZone-protected certificate management, which generates and maintains client certificates, and a Knox key store which allows third parties to use encryption to secure their applications. Administrators will also benefit from real-time monitoring, while Knox also supports two-factor authentication for fingerprint and password log-ins, as well as support for per-app VPN functions.

Knox 2.0 features support for most Android apps, removing the need to go through the wrapping process for third-party applications and it also supports third-party containers such as Good Technology.

EMM platform

Samsung has also added dual access point name (APN) support to the platform, allowing it to distinguish between personal and business app use, and separate bill charges – something which Samsung says solves on the biggest barriers to BYOD adoption.

Additionally, Knox 2.0 features an enterprise mobility management (EMM) service which has more than 326 IT policies, support for single sign-on and a new marketplace for Knox and enterprise cloud apps, with more than 140 applications available.

The Korean manufacturer told TechWeekEurope of its plans for a major enterprise push last year, explaining that it was looking to the business market to maintain growth, amid fears of smartphone saturation in developed markets.

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