BlackBerry will launch its Secure Work Space solution for iOS and Android devices in Q2, with a formal announcement at BlackBerry Live in May. The company had previously announced its plan to take business clients using iPhone and Android smartphones under its wing, allowing a formal separation of personal and business data with “secured client applications for email, calendar, contacts, tasks, memos, secure browsing and document editing for each device that is provisioned via BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.”
As expected, the backend will rely on BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10, an updated version of the current service used by millions of companies around the world. Secure Work Space will allow third party platforms to connect to their works’ servers over VPN, and ensure that lost or stolen phones will not lead to an inadvertent breach of company data.
The move to being a backend provider to enterprise BYOD devices allows BlackBerry a high-margin sales channel at a time where its hardware sales are, at best, mediocre. As the company works to bring the Z10 and, later, the Q10 to more markets, it must have a strategy in place to sell solutions to companies who don’t want to force a second phone down their employees’ throats, or those with BYOD solutions that may be looking at The Next Big Thing.
Secure Work Space will be outlined in greater detail during BlackBerry Live in May.
Via: Reuters
