Fromdistance addresses government smartphone security issues

The Finnish Parliament has been looking for a more intelligent way to support and manage its numerous mobile devices. Every time settings had to be changed, or new software had to be installed, it was carried out across more than 400 devices, one device at a time. Needless to say, the procedure took up a lot of valuable time and resources.

Luckily progress was made by the spring of 2008. A general agreement with the state’s joint purchase company paved the way for a more specified contract with Sofor, a software house producing IT solutions. Sofor, together with its subcontractor BLC Wireless, provided the eventual management service for the Finnish Parliament.

http://cloud-distribution.com/fromdistance/

Apple Is Pursuing The Business User With The iPhone

In the past, when business users needed a smartphone, they (or their company) frequently chose the BlackBerry. RIM, the creators of the device have been on the leading edge in the corporate market, until recently.

The features of the BlackBerry have been attractive to the corporate world by nicely managing email and corporate exchange servers. However Apple is going after these business clients and showing off the “business-savvy” features of the iPhone.

Apple has reportedly taken out a full-page ad on the back of The Economist, which is a prominent business magazine. The ad features the iPhone showing productivity apps such as Bloomberg, Cisco, Oracle, The Economist, and iWork.

At the bottom of the page it states:


The iPhone loves business. With over 425,000 apps, the best phone for apps just keeps getting better.

Apple also has a page on their website dedicated to business users. TheApple website expands on the many business friendly features of the iPhone that are available right out of the box, things like: multitasking and FaceTime. The webpage also explains the email integration with Microsoft Exchange, the security of the iPhone, the many existing apps for business, and the opportunities for industry specific application development.

This seems like the right time for Apple to get into the business arena. This has not been Apple’s big marketing push over the past few years, but now with the weakening of RIM, they may capture those who are moving away from the boring business phone.

In a question and answer session during Apple’s 2011 second quarter earnings call, COO Tim Cook stated that 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies are either testing or deploying the iPhone. With the integrative approach of the iPhone and the App Store, Apple believes they have a far better solution than the multi-platform devices found in the Android arena.

Lets hope Apple can capture the interest of business smartphone users. Not only will they have access to thousands of apps that will help them be more productive, they may just have a little more fun as well.

Cloud announce new vendor partner - fromdistance - Cloud-enabled Mobile Device Management

~click the logo to visit the microsite~

As you know, devices like iPad and iPhone are driving the adoption of Wireless LAN services. The security of the data which resides on these devices, and their propensity to be lost or stolen, means the security and management of these devices is becoming absolutely critical to your clients business strategy.

fromdistance have a unique value proposition to channels who have clients wanting to secure, manage and control their BYO (Bring Your Own) or company supplied smartphone and/or tablet estate. Provisioning, policy enforcement, monitoring and remote lock/wipe/kill are just some of the core features fromdistance delivers.

The solution can be sold in one of 3 ways:

1.     SAAS based, per device, per month using the fromdistance hosted platform 

2.     Self-Hosting whereby you, as the service provider, are able to host your own platform and white label it as your own 

3.     Behind the Firewall / LAN based Virtual Appliance for clients who are keen to keep control and security in house 

No other MDM (Mobile Device Management) vendor offers all three options. 

Devices supported include:

·         Apple iOS - including iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch

·         Blackberry - alongside an existing BES deployment

·         Android - Any flavour, any form factor

·         Windows Mobile - including Windows Mobile 7

·         Symbian

Microsite - http://www.cloud-distribution.com/fromdistance

Partner Price List - http://www.cloud-distribution.com/other/docs/fromdistance/fromdistance_pl.pdf

Data Sheet - http://www.cloud-distribution.com/other/docs/fromdistance/fromdistance_ds.pdf

Feature Overview - http://www.cloud-distribution.com/other/docs/fromdistance/fromdistance_features.pdf

Cloud are keen to have interested partners evaluate the solution (in all three guises) in mid June so please let us know if this is something you'd be willing to do ?

Best regards

Scott Dobson
Cloud Distribution Ltd
+44 (0) 1635 800410
+44 (0) 1635 800411 (DDI)
+44 (0) 7740 282182 (Mobile)

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