Blackberry Offers New Feature for Android and iPhone Security
In February 2013, Blackberry rolled out their new mobile phone operating system named Blackberry 10. In a similar offense to rebuild its share of the market, Blackberry is also planning to launch a new security feature, called Balance, to be used on both Android and iOs operating systems. Balance will be completely integrated to purchasing corporations’ non-Blackberry devices in June 2013 with full profitability in the coming 2014 fiscal year. Balance is already useable on the new touch screen Blackberry, the Z10, utilizing the Blackberry 10 operating system. In April of 2013, the Blackberry Q10 version will be released with an actual keyboard. This new device will also be Balance capable.
This new feature will separate business and personal data from one another, ensuring greater protection on the devices. This move aims to reassert Blackberry into a market lately dominated by Google, Inc.’s Samsung Galaxy and Apple’s iPhone. It further assists Research in Motion (RIM), the parent company of Blackberry; RIM maintains their profitability while cell phone consumers do not actually need Blackberry’s mobile devices. The new software is going to be managed through the current Blackberry Enterprise System Service 10. This service currently incorporates all differing device operating systems on the same networks into one management platform for Blackberry’s clients. This includes the government and large corporate clientele that their phones are generally geared towards.
The government and corporate clientele is exactly the reason Blackberry will begin offering its Balance security feature. Balance, also called the Secure Work Space feature, aims to eliminate the need for a separate work and personal cell phone. Since the dawning of the smart phone era, employees have had to walk a fine line in solely using business phones for business since these devices easily offer so much more. Balance completely separates business features, such as non-personal email, file editing, calendars, contacts, and web browsing from the more personal apps. For example, while the corporate clients will maintain control over the business side of the Android or iOS operating system under the Enterprise System Service 10, they will not be able to manage an employee’s Facebook app.
While the Balance feature separates personal and business, it also maintains greater privacy and security. Personal apps are not always reliably secure as they are often setup by third-party users and not directly from the corporation, the government, Apple, Google Inc., or Blackberry. By separating the business side of the phone from the rest, Blackberry ensures that this side is protected from the rest. Ultimately, employers will be able to yield more latitude when developing corporate cell phone use policy because their data will be more secure.
Further good news for Blackberry’s corporate and government clients, Balance and the Secure Work Space feature do not need to create infrastructure for private networks. This infrastructure was originally needed to setup mobile devices to send and receive data protected by corporate software security systems. The Secure Work Space will utilize the same technology previously used on Blackberry’s as far as data transit is concerned. The same security will be guaranteed, except there is no intermixing with the personal side of the mobile device.
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